Peloton won’t stop live classes, and now an employee has tested positive for COVID-19
An employee at Peloton’s New York City-based production studio has tested positive for COVID-19, the company said in a Facebook message to members late Friday night. The studio will be temporarily closed for a cleaning, though the message says production will pick back up on Tuesday, April 7th with “a skeleton crew.”
The employee is now self-isolating. Anyone they may have come in contact with is under quarantine.
While many connected fitness companies have halted production of live workout classes after state orders to shut down nonessential businesses, Peloton has continued to broadcast live classes daily — with anywhere from two to five new cycling and running classes a day, despite pleas from many Peloton subscribers for the company to halt filming entirely. After New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered nonessential businesses to shut down in mid-March, Peloton said it was going to continue operating on a reduced schedule, with a maximum of two instructors at the studio daily and filming as a “closed set” without a live in-studio audience.
Peloton’s response isn’t enough, says some subscribers. They are still urging the company to stop filming until the lockdown is lifted by the state of New York. “Just f***ing stop. This is ridiculous. You’re at ground zero. There is no way to keep them safe,” Peloton member Katrina P. wrote on Peloton’s official Facebook page for members. “It’s not worth it. Let them stay home. There is plenty of content for us on demand,” another user added.
Peloton has been filming live classes since its launch in 2014, and makes thousands of its videos available on demand in addition to live content.
Just yesterday, Peloton posted a note to customers that it was taking extra precautions for the safety of its live production crew and instructors, including sanitizing the studio after each class and sending private cars to pick up and drop off the crew needed to film a class. It also said it was sanitizing the cars after each ride.