Governments have begun easing their COVID-19 lockdown measures, resulting in the gradual reopening of health clubs, gyms and fitness facilities.

In Australia, where the number of new cases of infections has remained below 100 a day since 11 April – gyms will be permitted to begin trading during "Step Two" of a three-stage reopening framework, released by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on 8 May.

While each Australian state and territory is at a different stage of easing measures, all are expected to be at Step Two by July. Once opened, gyms and health clubs will need to adhere to a number of restriction, including social distancing and pre-booked training slots.

In New Zealand, where the government introduced some of the tightest restrictions in the world to stop the spread of coronavirus, gyms will be allowed to open on 14 May, as the country gradually eases itself to "Level Two" of a four-tiered alert system.

In the US, each individual state has the authority to lift lockdown measures. Some – including Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee and Oklahoma – have already made the decision to allow fitness facilities to reopen.

In the UK, industry body, ukactive, has produced a reopening roadmap for government and is lobbying to be part of the solution in light of evidence that fitness levels can determine COVID-19 outcomes.

In spite of this, no date has yet been given (at 11 May 2020), for gym reopenings in the UK.

In Europe, the continent hardest hit by COVID-19, the Czech Republic was among the first countries to reopen its gyms and clubs, in late April.

In Switzerland, facilities are opening on 11 May, followed by Latvia on 12 May.

Germany is instigating a partial reopening programme of sports facilities – which includes gyms – between 11 and 18 May.

Lithuania has announced reopening plans for fitness facilities for the end of May, while Poland is expected to allow gyms to open on 1 June.

Norway is expected to reopen its fitness sector in mid-June.

There is no confirmation on when clubs will open in Denmark, but the government has suggested that this will not happen until 1 August "at the earliest".

The two other Nordic countries – Finland and Sweden – have allowed gyms and clubs to stay open throughout the outbreak, with restrictions in place. Some of the larger operators, however, decided to close their doors regardless.

In France, some outdoor sports – such as golf and singles tennis – is now allowed, but swimming pools and gyms will remain closed.

Other countries with no definite dates for the reopening of their fitness sectors include the Netherlands, Portugal and Bulgaria, with Portugal allowing individual outdoor sports, but not indoor gyms.

Meanwhile, China – the likely source of the pandemic – has instigated a gradual reopening of its fitness and sports facilities, with some operators reporting attendances have already built to be 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Our thanks to Hans Muench for providing some of the information for this story.

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