Gyms, martial art schools concerned about surviving new COVID-19 restrictions

Click here for updates on this story

    HILLSBORO, OR (KPTV) — The owners of local gyms and martial arts schools say they’re concerned about how they’ll survive this new round of restrictions.

FOX 12 spoke to Shawn Chandler, the owner of CTA Hillsboro, a local Jiu-Jitsu school.

He says gyms like his enforce strict rules to protect people from COVID-19 and those measures have worked.

But he says this freeze will put him out of work and he’s not sure how much longer his business can survive without help.

“We do temperature checks, people wear masks, we actually make them do things,” Chandler said. “When they go out with their friends, they don’t do any of that and we’re just getting punished for it.”

Making matters worse, Chandler says the state hasn’t offered any financial recourse to businesses affected by these new rules.

And he’s lost track of how many times he’s filed for unemployment.

Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.