DC Attorney General Karl Racine announced Tuesday that Urban Athletic Club, a gym chain operating in the District, has agreed to implement emergency COVID-19 safety precautions following a lawsuit.
Racine sued the company earlier this month for coronavirus safety violations at its Shaw location, after it allowed its customers to exercise without face masks, adequate distancing, or proper equipment sanitization, according to a statement from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG).
Urban Athletic Club subsequently entered into an interim agreement requiring compliance with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s COVID-19 public health emergency orders, pending trial or other final resolution of the case, the statement explained.
“We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Urban Athletic Club wherein it will follow and enforce the District’s health guidelines, whose sole objective is to contain the spread of COVID-19 and keep District residents safe,” said Racine about the development.
“With coronavirus cases spiking across the District, everyone must take simple precautionary measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, to reduce exposure and transmission risk. Any business that knowingly flouts the District’s emergency orders, and needlessly endangers residents, will be held accountable.”
The company has other locations in Adams Morgan and Glover Park. However, the lawsuit targeted the violations that took place at its store at 804 N Street, Northwest, in Shaw.
As per DC’s public health emergency orders, businesses are required to make it mandatory for their customers to wear face masks while indoors. Gyms and workout studios must maintain six feet of distance between their employees and patrons, arrange workout areas to provide least 10 feet between patrons in all directions, and properly disinfect each piece of equipment after each use.
In addition, staff and customers at gyms must “wear a face covering while entering, exiting or within the facility, including while exercising if able to do so safely.”
In late November, all indoor group exercise classes were suspended and outdoor group workouts were limited to 25 participants, as part of an update to the Phase 2 Guidance in the District due to a rise in coronavirus infections.