The Prime Minister today issued the hugely distressing news that face treatments, due to be allowed again in England from tomorrow, have been postponed until at least the 15th August. They advised that this is due to a worrying increase in the number of COVID19 cases currently in England.
We received the following statement from government:
As the Prime Minister has said, with infection numbers creeping up, our assessment is that we should tighten some measures in order to keep the virus under control.
We will therefore be postponing the reopening of those close contact services that involve operating in the highest risk zone around the nose and mouth, until 15 August at the earliest. At all times we are guided by the science and it is our ambition to reopen them as soon as we can.
In addition to the close contact services mentioned above, the following will remain closed until 15 August at the earliest:
- Casinos, bowling alleys, skating rinks.
- Indoor performances.
- Pilots of larger crowds in sports venues and conference centres will not take place.
- Wedding receptions of up to 30 people will not be permitted, but ceremonies can continue to take place, in line with COVID-Secure guidelines.
- Saunas and steam rooms.
BABTAC are absolutely devastated for all our affected members and the industry at large and will continue to pursue urgent additional financial assistance from government for our sector, especially given the length of time we have been closed, while so many other sectors have been able to return.
At the same time and as worrying local lockdowns are also becoming more prevalent. If your salon is situated in an area of a local lockdown and you have any questions or concerns you can contact you local councils. You can find the details of your council by clicking on this government link and entering in your own postcode. The guidance for lockdowns currently in the north have clarified that while you are not permitted to visit friends you may still work in someone's home, so mobile work (of treatments allowed) is currently permitted. For full details click here. While the Leicester lockdowns are beginning to be eased beauty salons there still unfortunately need to remain closed until further notice.
Beauty in Wales did returned to work on the 27th August. To view the most up to date Welsh guidance and stipulations for Beauty click here. While they currently don't have an outright ban on providing treatments on the face there, Public Health Wales strongly advises against doing them and recommends ‘a fluid-resistant surgical face mask, eye protection (goggles or a full face mask), disposable gloves and apron, plus sufficient training in putting PPE on and taking it off and standard infection control procedures’ if you do.
Beauty in Scotland returned to work on Wednesday the 22nd July but there were a number of unanswered questions and confusion surrounding their guidelines and ambiguity on stipulations. We submitted a list of those to government for an urgent response before they opened but sadly it took two weeks before they updated their guidelines and then only to remove the ambiguity surrounding mobile therapists working, who they have now clarified may not work in other peoples homes. For their latest updated guidelines please click here. We will update members immediately if anything else there changes.
We had hoped that by today we would be welcoming back most businesses and instead our industry continues to face enormous challenges and heartbreak. We will continue to challenge the disparity of decisions made with government and urgently press for financial relief. This does remain a very painful reminder of just how difficult this pandemic is to contain. We therefore strongly urge those salons who are currently open to abide by your relevant government guidelines, ensure you have completed a robust risk assessment and do everything possible to protect yourselves, your staff and your clients and prevent further lockdowns. Businesses who chose to ignore the government guidence are putting ALL Beauty at risk of closure.