UNBS engages salon operators over COVID-19

HEALTH | BUSINESS | COVID-19

The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has directed salon operators to maintain high hygiene and sanitation standards, as well as the Covid-19 standard operating practices (SOPs) issued by the ministry of health. 

The standards watchdog said it would enforce the US713 standards developed in 2009, to control infections in the beauty industry and conform practitioners to a code of conduct, to protect both the practitioners and their clients. 

The principal standards officer, Safina Ngobya said most of the people who work in salons and beauty spas are semi-skilled because they learn on the job, and called on salon owners to ensure their employees know and observe the standards. 

She said there is reluctance for the employees to protect their clients, through face covering, washing of hands and avoiding sharing of tools as they work on clients. 

"The US713 standards require face covering for all workers and clients at all times. They also require the employer to carry out health checks for their employees to make sure they are fit for work, as well as, mandate the employers to maintain good sanitation and hygiene at all times, through the washing of hands, social distancing, and personal hygiene of employees," she said. 

She noted that the health and safety of consumers are neglected in most salons, as clients are made to sit for long hours as they are being attended to. 

She advised the salons and beauty spas to limit their capacity to 50% of workers at a given time, to observe the SOPs issued by the ministry of health to curtail the spread of the virus. 

She also said salons and other beauty spas should only attend to clients on appointment to limit crowding, as well as improve ventilation for enclosed spaces where possible. 

"You should also install physical partitions between work stations and use contactless payments such as mobile money to avoid the spread of the infection. Equally, customers should make appointments in advance to receive service and arrange chairs so that work areas are spaced at least 6 feet apart," she said. 

Ghanaian entrepreneur, Grace Amey-Obeng, said the emergence of Covid-19 has disrupted operations of the salon industry across the world, and people are losing income. 

She said the only way the industry would not die is by the sector players acquiring relevant knowledge to operate in the midst of the pandemic, because their job description has seriously changed. 

Obeng said the continent must also come together to develop African -wide standards, especially as the continent prepares to roll out the African Continental Free Trade Area (AFCFTA) early next year. 

"As Africans, we must begin to design things for ourselves that speak to African needs. Africa is good and blessed with raw materials for cosmetics and beauty products, but we must find how to exploit them and develop our own industry," she said. 

Hairdressing, cosmetics, and the beauty industry is considered to be one of the most lucrative industries in Uganda, worth millions of shillings.