YMCA Of Metro North Will Mask Up Under New Coronavirus Guidelines

PEABODY, MA — The YMCAs of Metro North will remain open, with enhanced safety protocols that include the wearing of face masks at all times when not swimming — including when working out — as the state moves back to step one of phase 3 of reopening businesses on Sunday.

"As exhausting as the past year has been, we need to push harder," said Kathleen Walsh, CEO of YMCA of Metro North, which includes branches at Melrose, Lynn, Peabody, Saugus and Stoneham. "Our health care workers, emergency response personnel, child care staff, teachers and grocery story clerks have been on the front lines since day one and they need our help more than ever."

Walsh said mask-wearing, which could previously be relaxed when doing vigorous workouts at least 14 feet away from the nearest person, will now be enforced at all times unless you are actively swimming.

"Everyone needs to wear a mask while working out at the Y," Walsh said. "Whether you are dancing to AquaEx in the pool, lifting weights, on the cardio equipment, in a group fitness class or you are a Y staff member in your office you need to wear a mask.

"Put another way, unless you are submerged in the water while you are actively swimming, a mask should cover your face. No exceptions."

With capacity limits reducing from 50 percent to 40 percent occupancy starting Sunday, Walsh said those will be monitored and enforced as well.

"At the gym, most of us go to push our limits: bench press that last weight, swim those extra laps, lean more deeply into a Yoga pose and run further and faster," Walsh said. "The exertion is exhausting, but worth the effort to improve our health. We are all facing pandemic fatigue, but we are being called on to test our endurance even further and mask up. Wearing our masks at all times is the only tool we have right now to keep each other safe so gyms can remain open, so our economy can remain open, and we can conduct business as usual under our new normal.

"Not everyone will agree with these new policies. In the long run, however, people will adjust and respect our efforts to keep each other safe. What I think about most often is that while wearing a mask might be a mild inconvenience or an extra level of exertion, it could be a matter of life and death to others around us."

More Patch Coverage: Here's What MA's Rollback Means For You

MA Vaccine Distribution Plan: General Public Waits Until April