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Report: San Francisco Opens Gyms For City Employees — Private Gyms Still In Lockdown

Members exercise at Chelsea Piers Fitness, Manhattan's largest fitness facility on first day of re-opening of gyms in New York

REUTERS/Mike Segar

David Krayden Ottawa Bureau Chief
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The city of San Francisco reportedly has opened gyms for public employees for months while private gyms remain in lockdown at least until the end of September.

“It’s shocking, it’s infuriating,” Daniele Rabkin from Crossfit Golden Gate told NBC Bay Area in response to the seeming coronavirus lockdown disparity.

Rabkin said that she has asked police officers that she knows if they were looking for a gym, and according to NBC, the police officers said they already had access to the San Francisco Police Department gym — as long as members obeyed the pandemic rules. (RELATED: Crowd Cheers As NJ Clop Allows Gym To Reopen Despite Notifying Owner Of Lockdown Violation)

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MAY 29: People work out during a class at CrossFit Apollo, which opened for the first time since closing on March 17 due to the statewide shutdown because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 29, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. As part of a phased reopening of the state's economy, gyms and fitness facilities were allowed to reopen today with social distancing guidelines and other restrictions in place. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

People work out during a class at CrossFit Apollo, which opened for the first time since closing on March 17 due to the statewide shutdown because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on May 29, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

“It just demonstrates that there seems to be some kind of a double standard between what city employees are allowed to do and what the residents of San Francisco are allowed to do,” Dave Karraker, owner of MX3 Fitness in the Castro told NBC.

“What the city has unwillingly done is created this great case study that says that working out indoors is actually safe,” said Karraker. “So at this point, we’re just demanding that they allow us to have the same workout privileges for the citizens of San Francisco that the employees of San Francisco have.” (RELATED: ‘He Will Be Cited Every Day’: California Gym Owner Opens Up Shop Just Days After Being Arrested For Opening)

The police aren’t the only city employees allowed to the gym while private citizens are not, according to NBC:  so are judges, lawyers, bailiffs, and paralegals.

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 13: Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center August 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. Pelosi highlighted the differences between House Democrats and the Trump Administration in their negotiations over coronavirus relief legislation, saying, "We're miles apart in our values." (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks to reporters during a news conference in the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center August 13, 2020 in Washington, DC. Pelosi highlighted the differences between House Democrats and the Trump Administration in their negotiations over coronavirus relief legislation, saying, “We’re miles apart in our values.” (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Locking down gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has generated pushback and even arrest from fitness center owners who argue it is no more dangerous to work out than shopping at a grocery or liquor store.