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         Jason Tang Chun-man                               wife and my parents. I need HK $60,000 to HK $70,000 a
        owner of Jason Fitness                             month for all these expenses,” says Tang, who has worked
           (Photo courtesy of                              as a full-time coach for seven years.
        Jason Tang Chun-man)                                  Fitness centres were closed as one of the government’s
                                                           measures to reduce infection risk during the pandemic.
           ason Tang Chun-man,                             Tang gained zero income from his centre since he had to
           owner of Jason Fitness                          close it and cancel all his classes.
        Jhas mixed feelings  about                            Tang has organized “takeaway classes” at parks near
      his centre’s operation as the fight                  students’ homes, trying to earn some extra money. “I made
      against COVID-19 in Hong Kong is                     HK $10,000 a month from these classes, but that only
      threatened by a rapidly ballooning outbreak at a gym.  translates to one-tenth of my original income,” he says.
        According to the Centre for Health Protection, there   He stopped holding “takeaway classes” after the reo-
      are already 122 cases related to the cluster outbreak in Ur-  pening of his centre and focuses on operating his fitness
      sus Fitness in Sai Ying Pun as of March 15. It is now the   centre.
      second-largest cluster outbreak in Hong Kong.
        Gyms across the city were closed for months due to       Problems Caused by the Regulation on Venues
      COVID-19  restrictions.  The  government  announced  on   Siu Cheong-hung, founder and volleyball coach of
      February 10, 2021 that fitness centres would be allowed   Hong Kong Elite Volleyball Academy (HKEVA), shares
      to reopen on February 18. All staff members have to do   Tang’s worries. He is also not sure if his academy can oper-
      a COVID-19 test every 14 days and all gym centres are   ate to its full capacity.
      required to install ventilation facilities inside their venues.
        Having reopened for only a month, Tang’s operation,
      which offers fitness and Muay Thai classes, is heavily im-
      pacted by the Ursus Fitness cluster outbreak, .
        “A lot of our students have cancelled their bookings or
      stop having classes in our centre. There are around 30 to 40
      per cent fewer students in our centre now,” he says.
        “But I do not think that I am unlucky. Things are no
      longer under my control, so there is nothing that I can do
      now,” he adds.
        Tang says that he felt helpless and frustrated in the past
      few months when his centre was closed.
        “I used my savings to pay rent for my fitness centre
      and mortgage for my flat. I have to take care of my jobless









                                                           Siu Cheong-hung, founder and volleyball coach of
                                                                  Hong Kong Elite Volleyball Academy
                                                                  (Photo courtesy of Siu Cheong-hung)




                                                             I have lost my main source of

                                                              income as a volleyball coach
      Jason Tang Chun-man’s fitness centre was closed
                for about six months in 2020.                      during the pandemic.
          (Photo courtesy of Jason Tang Chun-man)
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