LANSING, Mich. — The Safe Salons for MI coalition, representing over 350 cosmetology salon, spa and barber shop facilities across Michigan, delivered a letter to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer Wednesday requesting she allow them to open.
The coalition has come up with an eight-pillar reopening plan for safe operation. The plan was developed and finalized with officials from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.
“Michigan’s licensed cosmetologists, barbers and their team members are capable, ready, and excited to get back to work meeting the needs of our clients,” said Lisa Dennison, a regional director for Michigan Supercuts and Cost Cutters salons. “Our salons have always met detailed health and safety standards, and we’ve developed a comprehensive plan to go even further to keep everyone who walks through the door healthy. We urge Governor Whitmer to lift her ban on our jobs immediately.”
The eight pillars include detailed requirements in areas such as PPE, social distancing, sanitation, and worker and customer safety.
Below are the eight pillars, provided by Safe Salons for MI:
- Administrative controls for workers, including daily screening for workers to ensure they’re healthy before starting each shift, requiring workers to stay home if sick, maintaining appointment and walk-in records including date and time of service, name and contact information to assist in contract tracing if needed, and more.
- Access control for customers and guests, including staggered entry, prohibiting the return of products, accepting customers by appointment only where possible, asking clients to wait outside in their vehicle until their appointment time, and more.
- Social distancing on the job site for both workers and clients, installing barriers between employees where 6 feet of distance cannot be achieved and more.
- “Next level” best practices to ensure healthy hygiene on site will include the laundering of work clothing daily, eye protection for workers, limiting the personal items clients can bring with them for their appointment and more.
- Sanitation requirements include the cleaning of merchandise before stocking, constant disinfection of work areas and instruments, disposal of single-use materials, and much more.
- Personal protective equipment will be used by all workers, including masks. Clients will also be asked to wear masks, and face coverings will be provided upon entry to those without one.
- Should a client later test positive for COVID-19, our facilities will work with local health departments to identify potentially infected or exposed individuals to help facilitate effective contact tracing.
- Following facility closure each day, facilities will undergo deep cleaning with disinfectant cleaners approved by the EPA as effective against human coronavirus.
According to the coalition, the plan is modeled after efforts in 36 other states, including Ohio, where salons, spas and barber shops are open and operating safely.
“We work safely because the health of our clients and the health of salon, spa and barbershop workers like me are worth the effort,” said Caileigh Hoff, co-owner of Xclusive Studio in Brighton. “We’re ready to get back to our salons – regulated, sanitary environments – to properly protect ourselves and our clients. We’re ready to get back to work.”
On Thursday, May 21, Whitmer signed Executive Order 2020-96, which allowed for the reopening of some non-essential businesses, such as retail and auto dealerships. This order did not include the opening of salons, spas or barber shops.
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