Coronavirus Australia: Gyms and indoor sporting venues to close

Gyms and indoor sporting venues will close to the public from midday on Monday under a raft of tough new restrictions to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Gyms and indoor sporting venues will be closed to the public from midday on 23 March to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Prime Minister has announced.

The PM made the dramatic statement on Sunday evening, saying gyms would join pubs and clubs, excluding bottle shops and hotels, in being closed.

Cinemas, entertainment venues, casinos, and night clubs will also be shut while restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway and/or home delivery.

Religious gatherings, places of worship or funerals will also have to be held in very small groups and where the 1 person per 4 square metre rule applies.

MORE: Read the latest on coronavirus here

MORE: Everything closed in Australia from Monday

Schools will remain open the PM said, subject to further health advice. But Mr Morrison warned it would not be business as usual and the school holidays should be treated differently to normal.

“There will not be trips interstate ... there will not be congregating up at the trampoline venue or whatever it happens to be,” he said.

“It won’t be a holiday as anyone has ever known it.

“The decisions that parents make, that we all make, over the course of the next few weeks in particular could very seriously determine the trajectory that Australia continues to go on in relation to the coronavirus.”

Gyms and indoor sports venues will be closed from Monday. Picture: Gaye Gerard/ Sunday Telegraph

Fitness First Australia is allowing members to freeze their membership in light of the outbreak

“We understand the need to take preventative measures to reduce further illness during this time. We fully support any members’ decision to freeze their membership and have therefore updated our Time Freeze protocols in line with this,” it said in a statement.

Members are advised to contact their local clubs to do so.

The national lockdown comes after social distancing rules introduced last week were ignored by large sections of the public.

“We don’t now have any confidence that people would refrain from gathering in those ways, in those pubs, clubs and nightclubs,” Mr Morrison said at a press conference in Canberra.

“We have no confidence that will be followed. So unfortunately, because guidelines can’t be followed, then for public health reasons we now need to take further action which shuts those gatherings down.”

The new “stage one” restrictions will come into effect on Monday March 23 and could stay in place for up to six months.

F45 has been contacted for comment.

Outdoor gyms were not mentioned by the PM, but gyms and indoor sporting venues will close from Monday. Picture: AAP Image/John Fotiadis