Last week, we reported that hairdressing services and salons will be allowed to open and operate in Melbourne’s third step roadmap out of the pandemic’s second wave, while beauty services would have to wait for the final step, which were each set as a late October and late November open, respectively. VIC premier Daniel Andrews has since changed the protocols around beauty services, so that they can open with hair under Step 3.
“Following further considerations in public health advice, I can announce that beauty and personal services where a mask can be worn for the entire time that the person is getting the services they are accessing, will be able to proceed in the third step alongside hairdressers,” Dan Andrews said.
This rules out services such as facials, which don’t allow the use of a mask covering, but the news is an otherwise welcome announcement for our overall personal care sector, facilitated through the advice of health officials and advocacy within the beauty community itself.
In the current roadmap, announced by Victorian state Premier Dan Andrews on Sunday September 6, Stage 4 has been extended and continues as Step 1. Step 2 will also see hair salons, beauty salons and other retail services closed. This step will end on the latter of October 26 or when new daily cases are under 5 a day for two weeks, with hardly any unknown transmissions (under 5 total) for two weeks.
Moving to Step 3 after this threshold and date have both been met, hair salons will be allowed to open, along with other retail destinations and now beauty services as well. The roadmap finishes with the Last Step, which will be reached on November 23 and when there are 0 new cases state-wide for two weeks.
Regional Victorian hair salons have always been open in the wider state’s Stage 3 lockdown and, as the region reaches Step 3 this Thursday, September 17, beauty salons and services will now open again in regional areas.
“There have been many in the beauty and personal care sector that have been working with us and I think each of them for their very constructive approach they have taken to making sure their facilities can be open as soon as possible, but safely,” Dan Andrews said.
Our thoughts are with the entire hair and beauty community in Melbourne and Victoria at large as they continue to weather the difficulties of 2020.
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