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Lying on the sofa, eating canned ravioli and doing nothing - whoever does that will become a hero of the Corona crisis.
At least that was the message of a video campaign by the federal government aimed at encouraging citizens to stay at home in winter.
Make sport?
That would hardly have been possible, since fitness studios and sports clubs have been closed almost everywhere for months.
If the federal government is to be believed, opening up soon does not seem necessary either.
The people would apparently get enough exercise, as shown by a response from the federal government to a small request from the FDP parliamentary group that WELT has received.
"According to the current data, there is no significant decrease in physical activity as a result of these restrictions," it says.
The reason for this could be the alternatives, speculates the federal government and cites above all the digital substitute offers of many clubs and fitness studios.
However, the federal government does not have any concrete findings on this.
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Are fitness studios suddenly dispensable?
The federal government does not want to deny the companies their right to exist: "With their offers, sports clubs and fitness studios support the population in being regularly and sufficiently physically active and thus preventing the risk of various physical illnesses and psychological complaints," the answer said.
However, everyday activities such as cycling, long walks and gardening would also serve this goal.
It is estimated that only every second German has their own garden at all.
The studio operators are horrified because their data on sporting activity show something completely different.
"The answer is bottomless," says Birgit Schwarze, President of the Employers' Association of German Fitness and Health Systems (DSSV), WELT.
The industry strongly contradicts the statements of the federal government and refers to the preliminary results of a current study by the German University for Prevention and Health Management (DHfPG).
Preventive benefits of sport
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According to this, people's motivation to exercise continues to decrease the longer the lockdown lasts.
"Alternative forms of training such as cycling are currently only actually practiced by just under a quarter of those who train," it says.
The result: a deterioration in physical well-being.
The industry receives support from the opposition.
"The sense and effect of sports clubs and fitness studios can never be compared with gardening and going for a walk," says the sports policy spokeswoman for the FDP parliamentary group, Britta Dassler.
The answer is stunned and is the tip of the federal government's disrespect for the performance of thousands of volunteers and sports entrepreneurs in the pandemic.
Scientists repeatedly emphasize the preventive benefits of sport in institutions or clubs.
The risk of heart disease and strokes can be reduced and the immune system strengthened.
However, the federal government does not know whether the month-long closings have health consequences with regard to various diseases, as the answer shows.
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It is unacceptable that crisis management has no knowledge of the health consequences, adds Dassler's colleague Pascal Kober.
"Rather, sport should be viewed as part of fighting pandemics and included in the Corona strategy," the FDP social politician demands.
The federal government must make regulations that allow a real and differentiated risk-benefit assessment.
From the perspective of the Greens, however, opening debates come at the wrong time.
"Fitness studios also contribute to health prevention, they are an important part of the sports landscape," says Monika Lazar, sports policy spokeswoman for the Green parliamentary group.
"In the current situation, at the beginning of the third wave, I do not consider opening gyms to be justifiable." At the moment everything must be done to stop the exponential growth in new infections.
Source: WORLD infographic
According to a recent survey by the Hermann Rietschel Institute of the Technical University of Berlin, the risk of infection in fitness studios is actually high when the workload is high.
According to this, the so-called R-value in fitness studios with half occupancy and without wearing a mask is 3.4.
The value indicates how many more people an infected person infects on average.
If the clubs are only occupied by 30 percent, the R value is still 1.4, according to scientists.
For comparison: A cinema only has a value of one with the same occupancy.
However, the risk is significantly higher in the open-plan office.
With an occupancy of 50 percent and without wearing a mask, an infected person infects an average of eight more.
Twelve million members
"The industry has functioning safety and hygiene concepts," says the DSSV.
These would have to be included in the assessment of the risk of infection.
The companies reacted between the first and the second lockdown: More space was created between the devices, and masks were required outside of training.
If these measures are adhered to, the infection rate is greatly reduced, argues the industry.
Even politicians in the governing parties are encouraged: “The fact is: sensible hygiene concepts are on the table,” says Mahmut Özdemir, SPD spokesman for sports policy.
It is very important to him that sports clubs and fitness studios can start up again as soon as the infection situation allows.
"Here I would like the necessary pragmatism to make sport possible again."
The club operators should not only be concerned with the fitness of their customers, but also with the money.
In Germany there are around 10,000 fitness studios with almost twelve million members.
This year's new customer business has already collapsed by 45 percent.
There are also redundancies from last year.
“The companies have their backs to the wall,” says Association President Schwarze.
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In any case, the financial need seems to be great: the private fitness companies have so far submitted more than 15,000 requests for assistance across the various programs, as the response from the federal government shows.
The approved funding amounts to almost 285 million euros.
And some companies are still waiting for their money.
Even with Bridging Aid I, which was granted for the months June to August 2020, payments are still outstanding.
Even with the so-called November and December aid, amounts in the single-digit millions are still open.
In the end, the companies drew hope again.
In their most recent resolutions, the federal and state governments had promised the studios prospects.
A fourth opening step should enable contact-free indoor sports.
That is, if the seven-day incidence has not worsened for two weeks after the third opening step and the value in the respective country or region is below 50.
In the meantime, however, this perspective has been overtaken by reality.
At the beginning of the week, the seven-day incidence in 396 of a total of 412 German districts was over 50 - and the trend is increasing in many places.
There are hopes, at least in some regions.
In Saarland, fitness studios should be allowed to reopen after Easter, as well as cinemas and outdoor restaurants.
A daily negative rapid test is required.
Facilities in Hesse and Schleswig-Holstein also remain open - but under the strictest conditions and with prior registration.
The places are likely to be rare.
In Hesse, for example, a maximum of one person can train on an area of 40 square meters, in Schleswig-Holstein it must be 80 square meters.
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