ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — As Walt Disney World continues to reopen parks and the NBA prepares to begin games, Orange County leaders are hoping to find a careful path forward to restarting our local economy. 

But Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings is calling for caution in some spots as new case numbers of coronavirus rise locally.

Demings is calling on gyms to better follow reopening rules for safety as he has been stressing that people need to find a way to “live with the virus”, but still protecting the health and safety of residents as much as possible. 

But in the roughly two months since gyms have reopened, he says some are now not following guidelines as some open to full capacity, with their buildings crowded with members. 

Some gym owners say with such large facilities, it can be easy for it to look that way even with just 25 percent of building capacity reached. 

But still, Demings says seeing so many crowded into gyms is concerning, warning businesses to comply with CDC guidelines.

“So what I’ve said to them is they control their destiny. If we don’t see compliance as we begin to do some spot checks and inspections of the gyms to make sure of their compliance than we’ll have to make adjustments there as well,” Demings said.

Along with spreading out equipment and stepping up cleaning routines, some gyms are even going one step further to protect members though coming in by requiring temperature checks. 

And important to remember, Orange County does have a mask mandate in place for the county, though it does include an exception for exercising so long as people are maintaining social distancing. 

Karen Moreno owns the Bar Method in Winter Park. She says their classes are giving people a needed outlet during the pandemic, so it is frustrating that others are not taking the guidelines as seriously.

Since reopening in May, Bar Method reduced class sizes from 25 down to nine people, maintain social distancing and have stepped up cleaning routines for safety.

“But I think everyone is just so happy to have a happy place to come to and feel some sort of normalcy in their lives, so that’s been really positive,” said Moreno.

Moreno said since their reopening on Memorial Day a month and a half ago, the gym has gotten back into a routine with classes. They've been careful, limiting classes to nine people instead of the typical 25. 

Members coming in must wear masks work out at socially distanced stations to help protect members and teachers in class.  Moreno said it does get frustrating hearing that some gyms in the county are filling up and not following reopening guidelines as strictly.

“It really is frustrating, only because as a business owner, it’s taken a lot of effort. It costs more money with the cleaning, the supplies I’ve bought and the things to maintain it, we’re getting our carpets cleaned much more often, those things. And also just keeping our capacity at a lower level, it’s hard for a small business but I just know I’m doing the right thing,” Moreno said. 

“But I just know that I’m doing the right thing for the community here and the community at large and it’s working and people are happy," Moreno continued. "So I hope that everyone is taking that approach to the bigger picture of what we’re doing here and if we’re all doing things carefully and thoughtfully, we can remain open and moving forward."