The shutdown of personal care businesses due to concerns about coronavirus has been nothing short of economically devastating for salon owners, massage businesses, tattoo parlors and others.
While some people are advocating to reopen those businesses and are taking precautions such as plastic shields and masks, others — like Cody Ferro — believe reopening is dangerous to the health of business owners, employees and customers.
Ferro, who lives in Alexandria and owns Point & Line Hair Lounge, is organizing fellow business owners in hands-on businesses to advocate for opening in later phases of Virginia's phased business opening plans.
He sent us the following letter:
"As it stands now, the safety procedures laid out in Forward Virginia for hands-on businesses are inadequate, to say the least. It’s unconscionable to put countless practitioners at risk, let alone the innumerable clients we come into contact with. My colleagues and I think the Governor’s plan to allow salons to open is dangerous and shortsighted.
It’s also worth mentioning that it seems the overwhelming majority with opposite opinion aren’t the professionals who have to do this work, based on the engagements I’ve had and observed in the comments section of the Governor’s Live streams. While that may not be an effective means of data collection, I think it speaks volumes— we are being excluded from the conversation about our own industries and our own lives.
Yesterday, I had to wish my own mother a happy Mother’s Day from a six-foot distance. This social distancing rule continues to remain in effect through the first phase of forward Virginia. Truly, I cannot understand how it is any safer to touch a stranger’s hair and face when I‘m being advised against hugging my own mother.
The priority here is public safety. It’s not just about us it’s about everyone."
Do you agree or disagree? Post a comment below!
