Fitness First in Hong Kong that boasted at least 100 workers, including about 60 coaches and over 10,000 members, announced its permanent closure on Tuesday.

According to a The Standard, the company sent a letter to all of its staff to break the news, as well as to announce the immediate termination of all employment contracts.

It was also understood that the decision to shutter the gym chain came after an emergency meeting convened recently by the senior management.

“The gym business [across Hong Kong] has been halted for more than two months now, and operators are not even sure if they can resume business by 20 April – the expected ‘expiry date’ of the stringent COVID-19 curbs,” said Gordon Nowitzki Yau, chairman of the investigation panel of Hong Kong Fitness Guide.

“Monthly rent could cost a fitness center hundreds of thousands of dollars or even over millions of dollars.

“Some 100 to 150 more gyms will close later if the industry cannot resume business by mid-April, when the curbs are supposed to be relaxed.”

Gyms in Hong Kong have been ordered to close since 7 January 2022, as Hong Kong entered the fifth wave of the pandemic.