Gyms, dance studios, community centres and yoga studios will reopen their doors for indoor physical activity across England this week – but not all classes are allowed to resume.
There are different rules for adults and kids as lockdown restrictions ease from April 12, causing some confusion.
“All children can take part in indoor childcare and supervised activities, including sport and physical activity (such as community sport clubs), which can take place in any number,” the government’s guidelines state.
But if you’re over 18, you’ll have to wait a little longer to attend an indoor exercise class. Where adults are concerned, indoor sport facilities can only be used for individual activity or for activities by people from the same household (or support/childcare bubble).
“Personal training and coaching can take place either 1:1 or within households/bubbles,” the rules state. “Group activities and exercise classes are not otherwise permitted for adults.”
Organised outdoor sport/physical activity for adults is permitted to take place “with any number of participants, where it is formally organised and follows Covid-secure guidance” – so you may want to encourage your yoga teacher to take the mats outside.
Informal sport and physical activity can only take place outdoors in groups of six people or two households, though.
Regular, indoor classes for adults are part of ‘Step 3’, which the government has said will start from 17 May at the earliest. At this point, organised adult indoor group sports and exercise classes will be able to resume.