UHRICHSVILLE, Ohio — Gyms across the state of Ohio are scheduled to open Tuesday under Gov. Mike DeWine’s plan to reopen Ohio. Some gyms, however, are choosing to open early following a controversial court ruling in Lake County.
Nearly three dozen gyms filed a lawsuit in April claiming Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton violated gym owners’ constitutional rights by shutting down fitness centers.
Subsequently, Lake County Judge Eugene Lucci ruled in favor of Ohio gyms Wednesday and those facilities are allowed to reopen earlier than DeWine’s original recommended date of May 26.
Barbells Gym in Uhrichsville reopened Sunday after two months of forced closures.
“The thing that really irritated me a lot is that they closed our gym down, but they didn’t even come,” Neil Rager. “We have 16,000 square-foot here. We could’ve stayed social distanced way more than you are going to in the stores.”
Gym-goers, like Cade Cummings, believe gym closures were harmful to customers’ mental health.
“They come in here to blow off steam and I know how important it is to the psyche to be able to come in here every day on a daily basis and just clear your mind,” Cummings said.
Managers at Barbells Gym said they learned of the court ruling on social media and chose to open as quickly as possible.
“Everybody was sending it to us. All of our patrons,” Danara LaMonica said. “Some of our personal trainers sent it to us and we thought we’d take advantage of it.”
The injunction issued by the Lake County Court Wednesday effectively keeps Acton and local health departments from taking action against the gyms listed in the lawsuit
RELATED: Lake County Judge issues preliminary injunction against Ohio Dept. of Health for keeping gyms closed
