D.C. officials shut down locations of the fitness studio Solidcore after the founder said she would keep them open in defiance of new COVID-19 restrictions.
The Solidcore gyms were shut down Friday and Saturday by D.C.’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Founder and CEO Anne Mahlum argued that the studios were safe enough to remain open.
“We’re still in engaging in dialogue with the City to understand why we were specifically carved out in this order even though we can fully adhere to the restrictions given, just like gyms,” she said in a statement Sunday. “As I mentioned before, when we had to shut down again in Philly, we complied because everything was shut. This situation is very different as we are one of the only businesses being shut down with DC’s order and we haven’t been given reasons that help us understand why.”
As covid cases surge in the D.C. area and beyond, D.C. suspended all indoor group workout classes as of Wednesday. An order prohibits all indoor group exercise classes and all outdoor group classes with 25 or more people. Individuals can still go workout solo in gyms.
Mahlum said clients had visited more than 340,000 times since late June without one instance of the virus spreading.
