TORONTO -- Premier Doug Ford is defending his government’s decision to allow dance studios to reopen in Ontario’s COVID-19 hot spots, even as some boutique fitness facility operators cry foul over an alleged double standard.

Dance studios were initially ordered to close along with all other fitness facilities in the regions of Ontario moved back into a modified version of Stage 2 but on Monday the province amended its emergency orders to allow them to operate so long as dancers are pre-registered for classes and maintain physical distancing.

The province, however, did not provide a similar exemption for other fitness facilities that offer classes.

Speaking with reporters during his regular briefing on Tuesday, Ford said that it made sense to allow dance studios to reopen due to the fact that they use a “cohort” model that isn’t “much different” from the one utilized public schools.

He did say that he would “look into” other boutique fitness facilities that offer classes but he noted that it would be akin to comparing “apples and oranges” to automatically lump them in with dance studios.

“How it was explained to me was very simple. These groups are coming in different groups into the boutique fitness areas compared to a dance studio that is there for teaching and they have a cohort, if you want co call it that, compared to the fitness studios,” he said. “I don’t think you can compare the dance studios with certain students over and over again to fitness areas.”

Dance studios, along with gyms, fitness centres, movie theatres and indoor dining were ordered to shut down in Toronto, Peel Region and Ottawa on Oct. 10 and in York Region on Oct. 20.

On Tuesday, Ford said that he is doing “everything” he can to “make sure we get these places reopened as quickly as possible,” though he was non-committal on whether that could include exemptions for some facilities similar to the one granted to dance studios.

“Don’t get me wrong we are looking into the boutique fitness centres but then the next question as we move forward will be how about the other fitness centres and then it keeps going and going and going,” he said.