West Kelowna gym announces reopening, despite B.C.'s COVID-19 restrictions

A West Kelowna gym has joined the ranks of companies refusing to comply with B.C.'s COVID-19 restrictions, even as the province's case numbers continue to skyrocket.

Iron Energy Gym announced on social media Monday that it would be reopening in defiance of province-wide orders requiring in-person fitness facilities to remain closed until Jan. 18, at the earliest.

"WE ARE OPEN!" reads a post on the gym's Facebook page. "We're going to play our move, and wait for what happens next."

The business also encouraged members to bring their phones and be ready to record any government employee who might arrive to enforce B.C.'s public health orders.

"If anyone shows up at OUR GYM and tries to shut us down, we want it BLASTED all over the internet," the post reads.

CTV News has reached out to Iron Energy Gym for more information on its plans, and to Interior Health and the City of West Kelowna for a response to the business's decision.

Last week, Health Minister Adrian Dix said the latest COVID-19 measures will be enforced, if necessary.

"We will be moving, as we have throughout the pandemic, to enforce those orders," Dix said at a news conference Friday. "We don't want to engage in enforcement actions because frankly, we're busy. What we'd like people to do is to follow the rules and we expect them to do so."

It's unclear whether action has been taken against any defiant businesses so far.

Many gym owners have spoken out against the closure orders issued last month by provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, arguing that their industry is being unfairly targeted.

"It's not fair that restaurants are open and gyms are closed," Iron Energy Gym co-owner Brian Mark said on Instagram this week. "We're staying open because it's not fair malls are open and gyms are closed, and I think it's time that all gyms in B.C. take a (expletive) stand for what's right."

On Monday, Ontario followed B.C.'s lead by forcing fitness facilities to close, and went a step further by banning in-person dining and limiting indoor social gatherings to a maximum of five people.

Experts have been split about whether B.C. needs to increase restrictions or simply enforce the ones already in place, but one independent group of doctors and researchers has called for a three-week circuit breaker to get COVID-19 transmission under control.

Protect our Province B.C. has predicted every industry will face staffing shortages of 20 to 30 per cent if more isn't done to slow the spread of the Omicron variant.