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Klein: Gym closures not the best for resident

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I have been using the gym and indoor pool at the Beardsley Recreation Center for the last 14 years.

I have especially enjoyed it after the fitness center was updated some years ago. Use of this facility has allowed me to keep a constant evaluation of my cardiac issues and, in fact, has predicted (due to chest tightness when exercising) the need for several atrial stents in my CFX bypass artery over the last three years. This symptom is not present when simply walking miles around the neighborhood. As such, I truly think this gym and pool have saved my life.

We are now faced with the continued closure of these facilities due to the COVID virus. This happened in the spring of 2020 for a couple of months and now in December and January. This is literally killing me!

What is worse is that the Beardsley gym and pool are not used by many people. In fact, I doubt there were ever more than five people in the gym at any one time, and never more than one other person in a swim lane plus 5-6 in the walking section of the pool. Many times, in the 9-11 a.m. time slot, there were only one or two others in the gym and pool. Much lower attendance than before the virus struck.

So why are we keeping these facilities closed? I need this facility for my life! Why can’t the decision to close a facility be based on individual circumstances, i.e. attendance and the ability to deal with proper social distancing, instead of a one for all “blanket” policy?

Richard Klein

Sun City West