By Philip Haldiman
Twitter: @PhilipHaldiman

Local gyms are disinfecting workout equipment, jewelers are hiring doormen to man their storefronts and other retailers are laying out social distancing floor plans.

All this and more is being done to ensure public safety and health as the business community ramps up operations at the possibility of Gov. Doug Ducey ending his stay-at-home order May 15.

The governor has been slowly removing pandemic restrictions with the partial reopening of retail businesses May 4, the reopening of salons and barbershops May 8, and the reopening of restaurants’ dining rooms on Monday.

Many others are readying their establishments, hoping an ending of the stay-at-home order will come with the governor opening the rest of Arizona’s economy

There area has about 650 health clubs in Arizona and nearly 1.2 million residents who visit them, according to International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association.

All that stopped when Gov. Ducey ordered residents to stay at home to curtail the spread of coronavirus, essentially closing the state’s economy.

When the reopen happens, Tom Hatten, founder and CEO of Mountainside Fitness, said social distancing precautions will be in place to ensure health and safety. Since the closure, the gyms have undergone electrostatic sanitation, which improves infection control and the spread of viruses such as COVID-19, he said.

The club is made up of strength training and cardiovascular equipment, group fitness classes and child care facilities.

Mr. Hatten said all cardio and group fitness machines will be 6 to 7 feet apart. This will reduce the number of participants for group classes, so they will require sign ups 12 hours in advance to secure a spot.

Children left in the childcare center will require a temperature check, as will employees reporting to work.

Mountainside Fitness has about 105,000 members at least 19 locations throughout the Valley.

“There will be signage, we will notify all the members of what those protocols will be,” Mr. Hatten said. “And some of it will be on the members to make sure they are making wise decisions as they flow through the facility.”

Osborne Jewelers, 15350 W. McDowell Road, Goodyear, was taking reservations but is now fully open to the public.

Joanne Osborne, owner of the business and member of the Arizona House of Representatives for LD13, said cleaning protocols and safe distancing have been put into place and face protection is used in the form of face shields.

“With masks you can’t see the happiness and you can’t see the emotion and the expression in your face. With a face shield, you can see my smile and yet we are still protected,” she stated at a forum hosted by WESTMARC. “As a business person going forward, I am excited and optimistic, and I know things are going to be a little different.”

Valley hospitals have been at the front lines of the pandemic and have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to safety that local businesses could learn from.

Abrazo West CEO Christina OH said just as Abrazo has been unapologetic about protecting their stakeholders, so too should be business owners of their customers.

That means being unapologetic about doing things that might have seemed extreme at the time in order to make sure staff and physicians were protected, she said.

“We screen every person that walks into the building for respiratory symptoms. We take their temperature, give them a mask and hand sanitizer. At first that took some time to get used to,” she said. “As you are thinking of opening your businesses I would warn you if you do put measures in place to protect people, it might take some time to get used to it. But the why behind it is most important and that is that you care about your customers and your employees.”

Additionally, Ms. Oh said businesses should be very data driven and transparent, as well as prepared to operate in new normal.

“As a business owner it is important to tap into what data is saying, and to adjust procedures based on that,” she said. “Be very transparent. ... People will give you grace for being very transparent. We are all first timers at coronavirus. There is not a hospital in the world or a community in the world that has dealt with this before so I have found that in general your stakeholders will be gracious with you if you walk them through your thought processes and admit when you’ve made mistakes.”

Philip Haldiman
News Editor | Peoria
@PhilipHaldiman

phaldiman@iniusa.org

Philip Haldiman is a third generation Arizona native with brief residencies on the east and west coasts. He has bachelor’s degrees in Theater and Journalism at Arizona State University, and is an award winning journalist with more than 15 years worth of experience in reporting and editing. Most recently, he took first place for investigative reporting and third place for best sustained coverage or series at the 2023 Arizona Newspapers Association awards. In his free time, he produces an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.