Muscat: Barbershops and beauty salons in Oman must ensure the tools that come into contact with their customers, such as razors, hairbrushes, seat covers and aprons are of a single-use nature, so as to avoid the spread of COVID-19.
Barbershops were among the businesses allowed to reopen,on 26 August, after they’d been temporarily shut for five months during the COVID-19 pandemic. “For your safety make sure you use only single-use tools such as razors, face cloths, hair brushes, barber aprons and seat cover,” said a statement from Oman’s Government Communications Centre.Currently, barbershops and salons are allowed to offer specific services, including haircuts and hair dyeing, manicures and removal of body hair. Barbershops can expand their services once Muscat Municipality conducts assessments ensuring all outlets follow the procedures required to limit the spread of the disease.
Included in the second phase of offerings to clients, which will be allowed after the municipality conducts its assessment are make up services, skin treatments, applying henna, and massages to customers.
“Services related to the second phase of the activities of women’s beauty centres can be provided after the municipality completes its assessment during this period, to measure the extent to which women’s centres adhere to the preventive controls and procedures while providing those services permitted under to the first stage,” said Muscat Municipality in a statement. Safety assessments by the municipality have already begun, and will take place until the end of next week in the Governorate of Muscat.
Regulations to be followed by barbershops and beauty salons at present:
1. Customers in-store are not to exceed 50 perc ent of capacity
2. Work must be limited to half the number of chairs in which customers are serviced, as well as half the number of employees, to avoid overcrowding
3. A distance of two metres must be maintained between chairs
4. Cloth towels to be replaced with disposables; customers allowed to bring their own
5. All plastic implements must be sanitised in an ultraviolet or heat treatment box, along with the metal implements normally used
6. Single-use equipment must be used
7. All toilets must be sterilised regularly. If possible, a worker must be assigned to sterilise the toilet before and after each customer uses it
8. Food must not be exchanged between workers and customers
9. All cleaning activities and disinfection must be done with agents containing 70 per cent alcohol, and the frequency of these activities are to be increased
10. Focus on making door handles, staircases, cash dispensers, TV and AC remotes, customer chairs, wash basins, tables, shelves, and cabinets sterile
11. All items to be covered with plastic to ensure they remain sterile
12. Document the cleaning and disinfection of the premises in a special record book maintain just for this purpose, stating the chemicals used during this process.
13. Limit the exchange of conversation between customers and workers, especially while services are provided.
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