MASERU - Local beauty salon owners have appealed to the government through the National COVID-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC) to loosen up restrictions and allow them to operate, pledging to observe safety protocols like they did before.
health
Aug. 13, 2020
Lineo Mabekebeke
2 min read
Salons owners appeal for their businesses
When making the appeal on Monday, a representative of the sector, George Mando, said they will ensure that everyone who enters their businesses is well protected against COVID-19, through wearing of face masks and using hand sanitizers.
Mando said even before the COVID-19 pandemic, their businesses were already observing health safety protocols including washing of hands with soap and running water. “We have always used personal protective equipment like aprons, gloves and sometimes face masks to protect clients against dangerous chemicals that we use,” he said.
He said there is no way that they can ever fail to observe social distancing in their workplace as they always leave space for customers given the nature of their job. The colour coding system that was introduced earlier by government as a way of knowing the direction to be followed as a preventive measure indicates that under the colour orange, hair salons, barbershops and nail salons should be closed completely.
But the sector has appealed to NACOSEC to re-visit the COVID-19 risk determination and mitigation framework for economic activities and at the same time meet salons owners to clarify some of the issues. Mando said: “I have learnt that NACOSEC did not meet any of
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us when they were making these decisions, because none of us can confirm meeting a representative of NACOSEC. We therefore appeal to the body to visit us and discuss these issues with us.”
He shot down claims that the sector can increase the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country if it remains in business now. Another salon owner, Mosiuoa Tšupa, admitted that their businesses are still open although they were supposed to have closed down. “But hunger forced us to open-up even when we know that we are not supposed to be operating. With all due respect, we appeal to the government to remove our businesses under the orange and red indicators which force us to remain closed,” Tšupa pleaded.
NACOSEC stated that all COVID-19 health and safety protocols must be followed at all the times. The body also showed that observance of guidelines for social distancing, sanitation and hygiene as well as use of appropriate protective equipment, like face masks as determined by the ministry of health is mandatory.
A document was recently released by NACOSEC to build a COVID-19 risk and determination framework for colour coded stages of the pandemic, which serves as a guide for decision making for the government to manage and control the spread of the virus.
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