The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Government was yesterday urged to create a COVID-19 regulatory ‘level playing field’ so that massage and spa therapists can join counterparts in similar industries that have already returned to work.

Anton Minnis, vice-president of the Bahamian Cosmetologists and Barbers Association (BCBA), told Tribune Business that the Government-mandated closure of massage therapists and spas in a bid to contain the latest COVID-19 outbreak was unfair given that other professions - such as physiotherapists and dentists - were in similar close contact with their clients but have been allowed to continue operating.

He said: “We have an issue with the fact that they’ve closed down the estheticians and massage therapists, and we’ve not heard of any reopening of them.

“In our view, massage therapists would be in line with your physiotherapists, and the estheticians are in line with the dentists in terms of their proximity to people and exposure. So it would be good if we take that into consideration and just ask them to employ the same measures that the physiotherapists and the dentists employ, and let them be functional. I would appreciate that greatly.”

The BCBA’s membership covers barbers; hair salons and hair stylists; nail technicians; massage parlours; and spas. However, the Prime Minister’s Office mandated in July that spas will not be permitted to operate, including for massages, waxing, threading and facials. This will continue until the COVID emergency orders end.

“We just want them to employ their safety protocols on a medical level and let them work,” reiterated Mr Minnis. “We sent a letter to the Government but we have gotten no response.

“I think they are a bit overwhelmed with the cases right now, which is understood. But we definitely want to partner with them in any way that we can because our protocols are similar. Medicine came out of barbering and cosmetology, so with that being the case we really would like to partner with the Government on a deeper level.”

Mr Minnis continued: “Our president has gone in and spoken with them. We have established some courses through the Ministry of Health for certain certifications that we can do to show just how much we want to comply, but we expect things to move along very slowly.”

The return to virtual education has also meant that there was not traditional back-to-school business pick-up for barbers again this year. “The schools are not going to require that the students sit in front of the camera and be groomed, so we are not having a heavy back to school rush like we did in the past,” Mr Minnis added.

“The appointment system for us is the way forward because we don’t see us getting out of the threat of COVID-19. We may come out of the pandemic but we won’t be done with the threat of COVID-19.

“So the way forward is that we keep the appointment system. I think it is working well for quite a bit of people, too, for clients as well as store owners, because you are able to track yourself better and have more control of your immediate environment.”

Andrea Russell, owner/operator of T&S Beauty Salon, added: “We have to do appointments because of the COVID-19 restrictions. The appointments are good for now. We can stick with the appointments.”