Gym on Hilton Head’s south end cited for allowing workouts during coronavirus
A Hilton Head Island gym was cited by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office for allowing people to workout inside during the coronavirus state of emergency that ordered all non-essential businesses closed.
Breakthrough Fitness, located on Arrow Road on Hilton Head’s south end, was cited for illegal acts during a state of emergency on Wednesday after the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office got a report that the gym was allowing people to enter from an alternate door to workout.
The gym’s owner, Jay Stever, was issued a citation which could carry up to a $100 fine or 30 days in jail.
Stever said his gym was not open to the public, and the few people entering the gym to work out were employees.
“We allowed some of our employees to come over and work out but we’ve been closed to the public,” he said Saturday. “It was not like we were abusing the privilege or taking advantage of it.”
Breakthrough Fitness has been closed to the public since April 1, he said. The gym’s trainers and teachers have been entering the gym to broadcast fitness classes on Zoom, Stever said.
S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster ordered all non-essential businesses in South Carolina closed as of April 1, including entertainment venues, tattoo shops, gyms and sport-related businesses that require people to share equipment.
Stever, who has operated Breakthrough Fitness for 22 years, said those rules are too restrictive.
“Some of the non-essential business rules should be relaxed,” he said. “It’s caused irreparable harm to us.”
The Sheriff’s Office has not issued citations to other gyms on the island for operating during the state of emergency, spokesperson Maj. Bob Bromage said Saturday.
Bromage said “the vast majority of people and businesses are complying with the governor’s executive order.”
This story was originally published April 11, 2020 at 12:22 PM.
