Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the scientific advice he received on closing gyms in tier 3 covid-19 areas.

We know that the virus spreads readily in any indoor environment where members of different households and/or support bubbles spend time together, so the transmission risk in indoor settings, such as gyms, remains high. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies provided advice to the Department and considered the risks of transmission through different routes and environments in a paper which is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/933225/S0824_SARS-CoV-2_Transmission_routes_and_environments.pdf

A national impact assessment on the potential effect of COVID-19 restrictions on transmission across the country, including in tier 3 areas, is available at the following link:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/925856/S0770_NPIs_table__pivot_.pdf