Interior Health has ordered all indoor and outdoor fitness facilities to close down because of COVID-19.

Medical health officer Dr. Sue Pollock says the order will be in place until May 30, unless the health authority says otherwise.

“People attending fitness centres, gyms, yoga studios and other similar facilities constitute gatherings of people in close contact which we know promotes the spread of COVID-19. This order allows us to communicate fairly and effectively to all operators of fitness facilities, and this order is not directed at any one, specific facility.”

The order doesn’t apply to recreation facilities like tennis and basketball courts, fields, and skate parks.

Pollock is encouraging operators of fitness centres to do classes virtually instead of in-person.

Many gyms in the Kamloops area had already shut down voluntarily, after the province restricted gathering sizes to 50 people.