Appeals Court Says Michigan Gyms Must Remain Closed

Just hours before they were due to reopen, a Michigan appeals court has ruled the gyms in the state must remain closed.

Just around 9pm Wednesday night a federal appeals court agreed to delay implementation of a judge's order that would have allowed gyms to reopen in Michigan beginning at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued the ruling shortly before 9 p.m., saying Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's order keeping gyms closed during the coronavirus pandemic needed to remain in place while an appeal of U.S. District Judge Paul Maloney's decision of last week to reopen them was heard.

A three judge panel made the decision believing the public could be placed at risk with the reopening of the gyms."We sympathize deeply with the business owners and their patrons affected by the governor's order," the panel said. "Crises like COVID-19 can call for quick, decisive measures to save lives. Yet those measures can have extreme costs — costs that often are not borne evenly."

Gyms across the state have been closed for months as a result of the governor’s executive order. On June 19, a federal judge ruled that indoor gyms could reopen in Michigan. Governor Gretchen Whitmer appealed the ruling.