The Ontario government released a broad three-stage COVID-19 plan to re-open the economy on Monday, following the shutdown since March 16th.
UPDATED ARTICLE (Updated March 2, 2021) – Ontario’s Colour Coded Re-Opening Strategy and when makeup artists can return to work in Ontario (2021)
Ontario’s COVID-19 Economic Plan:
The announcement introduced a gradual, three-stage approach that maintains the emphasis on containment and public safety.
Ontario declared a state of emergency in mid-March in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19, ordering the closure of any business deemed non-essential. Currently, the state of emergency has been extended until mid-May.
These mandated closures, of course, applied to makeup artists, hairstylists, nail techs, eyelash techs, eyebrow techs, tattoo artists, and many many more in the beauty and cosmetic industry. Anything deemed a non-essential service.
The three-stage plan does not include specific dates, as every move will be carefully calculated based on the daily results and numbers coming in.
“The framework is about how we are reopening, not when we are reopening,” Ford said.
“I won’t set hard dates until we are ready, because the virus travels at its own speed.”
Each stage will be individually assessed and monitored by public health officials for two to four weeks.
If the virus proves too difficult to contain then certain measures and restrictions may be applied or revisited.
“As public health measures are lifted and as economic activity resumes, the public will need to continue to maintain physical distancing and hand washing, along with self-isolation when experiencing COVID-19 symptoms,” the province said in a release.
What does all of this mean for the beauty industry? Well… let’s take a look at the three stages and see!
All of the below information is available in more detail here https://www.ontario.ca/page/reopening-ontario-after-covid-19
Below information comes directly from Ontario.ca website cited above:
Reopening businesses and public spaces:
The reopening will be gradual and occur in stages. There will be two-to-four weeks between the launch of each stage to allow health officials to assess conditions before moving to the next one.
This will determine if measures should be adjusted, loosened or tightened. This approach will enable the government to ensure there are appropriate measures in place to open safely and limit health risks.
Everyday actions to protect your health, like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and staying home when ill, will continue through each stage.
Stage 1
In the first stage, we will consider:
• opening select workplaces that can meet current public health guidelines
• allowing essential gatherings of a limited number of people
• opening some outdoor spaces
• continued protections for vulnerable populations
Stage 2
In the second stage, we will consider:
• opening more workplaces with significant mitigation plans
• opening more public spaces
• allowing some larger public gatherings
• continued protections for vulnerable populations
Stage 3
In the final stage, we will consider:
• opening all workplaces responsibly
• relaxing restrictions on public gatherings
• continued protections for vulnerable populations
COVID-19 and the Affect on Makeup Artists:
Now let’s discuss how this will affect the makeup artist industry…
It is utterly impossible to do a person’s makeup while maintaining a physical distance of two meters or six feet. The issue lays with the fact that the client cannot always wear a mask.
There is a paragraph right before the province’s three stages are outlined (directly from Ontario.ca) it clearly states that throughout all three stages physical distancing will continue and that masks should be worn by everyone in scenarios where maintaining that distance may be difficult.
Everyday actions to protect your health, like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and staying home when ill, will continue through each stage.
Yes, I realize we all want to get on with our lives and get back to work; but realistically, based on this information it does not look like makeup artists will be returning to work anytime soon. Based on those guidelines how can we?
Stage 3 allows for “opening all workplaces responsibly”. It is safe to assume at some time during Stage 3 they will allow facial services to resume.
See our COVID-19 update here