Rules for personal care services during advanced Level 3 lockdownThe South African government has officially gazetted regulations for the newly permitted operation of personal care services (formal and informal), including hairdressing, beauty services and tattoo parlours. Image credit: Stocksnap via Pixabay On Friday, Minister of Small Business Development Khumbudzo Ntshavheni published a directive outlining the new guidelines for the personal care industry as part of the country's revised Level 3 lockdown rules. The categories of services that are deemed safe to resume operations are: hairdressing, barbering, nail and toe treatments, facial treatment and make-up, body massage, and tattooing and body piercing. These permitted services may only commence with operations once ensuring full compliance with the relevant protocols for their services. "The objectives of these protocols is to assist employers to establish an environment that mitigates the spread of Covid-19, which if properly implemented and complied with, would assist with the sustainable health and safety of the employees and customers in the personal care services industry," Ntshavheni states in the document. "The protocols have been developed to provide a framework to mitigate and manage the Covid-19 outbreak amongst employees and customers in the personal care services industry." All salons are expected to adhere to the following basic health and safety guidelines for personal care businesses: • Handwashing In addition to this, the directives state that standard operating procedures for formal salons include the following. Handwashing or sanitising:• Provide a hand sanitising/handwashing station for customers before they enter the business premises Cleaning of premises and equipment:• Premises must be cleaned before and after use Personal garment and personal protective equipment (PPE):• Arrange adequate PPE for employees (including visors and face masks if required) Social distancing:• Encourage pre-booking appointments to avoid long queues and waiting period Compliance:• Explain new procedures and schedules to all employees Access and booking:• Employees and owners above the age of 60 or with comorbidities must be discouraged from working Workstations and wash stations:• The basin area must be cleaned after each use The government gazette continues with directions for informal hair and beauty salons, as well as formal and informal tattoo and piercing parlours. The published document with detailed directions can be viewed here. These protocols came into effect on 19 June 2020. For queries on the regulations, businesses are urged to contact the Department of Small Business (DSBD) on 0860 663 7867 or email az.vog.dbsd@ofni for clarity. |