New regulations announced for reopening

Hair Salons :

Aside from enhanced cleaning and sanitization, salon staff are now required to wear masks. Eye protection and aprons are also advised, according to the province.

Blow drying hair is not recommended unless the stylist and client are wearing masks.

Other recommendations include:

– Arrange workstations to maintain 2 metres of distancing between clients.

– Avoid sharing products or tools between workstations. If sharing is required, clean and disinfect products and tools between users.

– Wash towels, robes and related items between clients, and dispose of non-washable items, like neck strips, between clients.

-Only use equipment that can be cleaned and disinfected, or disposed of, between clients.

– Use a clean towel instead of a neck brush to remove hair

People looking to book their next cut are encouraged to book appointments online or by phone, and they are asked to arrive no more than five minutes to appointment time.

Retail Stores:

For retail stores looking to reopen, physical distancing measures or barriers must be in place at the cashier stations. Markers should also be in place indicating where customers should stand while they wait in line.

Shop owners eager to open are also advised to update return policies to reduce transmission.

The province says this may include:

– Eliminating the opportunity to return purchased goods by opting for final sale only

– Cleaning and disinfecting hard-surfaced, returned good prior to placing them back onto the sales floor,

– Storing soft-surface items, like clothes for a period of 24 hours prior to resale.

John Graham with the Retail Council of Canada, told CHAT NEWS Today that he expects shopping at your favorite retail store to look different for some time to come.

“We are going to see a lot fewer people in stores because the confidence has to rebuild and many people are going to continue to stay away from retail, but we are also going to see a lot more sparse stores and stong protocols and guidance from trained staff and arrows on floors, max occupancies in stores and physical gaps at the check stands.

Graham says the COVID-19 pandemic has hit the retail sector hard, with
some retail businesses struggling to pay rent.

” The federal rent program which is supposed to be a great relief to many has not landed well and many landlords have opted not to participate in it meaning that retailers are carrying tremendous debt loads through either deferred payments or rent with scarce cash that is having to be paid,” Graham said.

” Unfortunately what we are seeing is retailers having to make tough decisions regarding reopening stores at this point,” Graham adds.

Even with the doors reopened, Graham predicts retail sales will be slow the next few weeks.

Restaurants:

Dining at your favorite restaurant, bar, pub or cafe’ will also look different under the new regulations.

-Restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars must operate at no more than 50% seating capacity, including outdoor patios.

– Tables and chairs must be arranged so that a minimum 2-metre distance is maintained

-Wait staff and servers who cannot be protected by 2 metres of distance or a physical barrier must wear a cloth or surgical mask.

-Buffet service remains prohibited, and all dining must be table service only.

– The province also recommends limiting the number of people per table to a maximum of six.

-Thorough cleaning and sanitization must occur throughout the restaurant.

– Rolled silverware is advised as opposed to presetting tables. The person performing this task must follow hand hygiene practices.

Mark von Schellwitz of Restaurants Canada says even with the phase one reopening, many restaurants will struggle to weather the financial toll of COVID-19.

” I think not all businesses are going to open at a 50 per cent capacity level simply because they are going to come to that business conclusion that they are just not going to be able to generate revenue to pay their basic costs and break even,” Von Schellwitz said.

A recent survey conducted by Restaurants Canada found about seven out of 10 survey respondents said they are either very or extremely worried that their business won’t have enough liquidity to pay vendors, rent and other expenses over the next three months.

The organization is now pushing the government for rent relief, working capital relief and an extension of the federal government wage subsidy program so that operators who were forced to closed can use the money to hire staff for reopening.

More details on the new sector-by-sector guidelines can be found here.

by Tiffany Goodwein

New regulations announced for reopening

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