In over 1 million visits to 96 locations across North Carolina during the months of Dec. 2020 and Jan. 2021, only 38 cases of COVID-19 were reported to YMCAs. That is a positivity rate of just .0038%, a decrease compared to the rate of .0045% reported between the months of Sept. and Nov. 2020.
To test YMCA health protocols across North Carolina, the NC Alliance of YMCAs began recording cases of COVID-19 reported to its YMCAs in Sept. 2020. The NC Alliance's most recent study announced a decrease of cases reported at YMCAs between Dec. 1, 2020 and Jan. 31, 2021.
The YMCA of Greensboro has joined associations across North Carolina dedicated to operating with strict standards to keep our community safe and healthy, guided by state and local health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The study shows that our Ys’ efforts to maintain safety and sanitation in our facilities is working,” said Sherée Vodicka, CEO of the NC Alliance of YMCAs. “Even as our state faced its highest COVID numbers, the Ys successfully minimized COVID cases by adhering to strict protocols. We are grateful to our members who have partnered with us to wear masks indoors, practice social distancing and keep hands and surfaces clean. Together, we are protecting each other and keeping Ys open for business.”
This decrease in positive rates is a bright spot in what has been a struggle to balance losses to revenue with a need for critical services such as childcare, providing meals to community members in need, remote learning support, medical exercise programs and senior programs.
Along with serving their communities with fitness programs, YMCAs across North Carolina have provided remote learning support for nearly 9,700 children at 129 sites, assisted more than 835,000 of those in need with meals and completed nearly 90,000 wellness checks to those at risk and seniors since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We will continue to practice precautions such as mask-wearing, sanitation and social distancing to help keep our community safe. Visit this page to learn more about our safety protocols.
A version of this post originally appeared on YMCA of Western NC's website.
Additional resources on gyms/COVID-19 transmission can be found here.