Barbers/cosmetologists/hair salons must make masks available for clients; however, clients may bring and use their own face mask. ... Barbers/cosmetologists/hair salons must ensure employees wear gloves while handling products during shipping and receiving.

What are the guidelines for the use of cloth masks in salons or barbershops during COVID-19?

○ Require the use of cloth masks in the salon or barbershop, as appropriate.
▪ Cloth masks are intended to protect other people—not the wearer. They are not considered to be
personal protective equipment.
▪ The spread of COVID-19 can be reduced when cloth masks are used along with other preventive
measures, including social distancing. A universal face covering policy can be effective in
preventing the transmission of the virus in close-contact interactions, including within a salon.
▪ Emphasize that care must be taken when putting on and taking off cloth masks to ensure that the
worker or the cloth mask does not become contaminated. Be careful not to touch your eyes,
nose, or mouth when removing the mask and wash hands immediately after.
▪ Cloth masks should be routinely laundered.

How to help hair salon employees protect themselves and their clients from COVID-19?

When redesigning your workspace, consider using every other chair if moving chairs or adding barriers is impractical. Make sure the workspace is well ventilated. If the salon or barbershop has special ventilation, such as ventilated tables or portable ventilation units, they should be used.

Discourage the use of personal fans and blow dryers as they have the potential to spread any airborne respiratory droplets that may contain the virus that causes COVID-19.

Small business owners, renters and managers should work with facilities management to adjust the ventilation so that the maximum amount of fresh air is delivered to occupied spaces while maintaining the humidity at 40-60%.

What steps should the employees of nail salons take to protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic?

• Workers should be educated to avoid touching their faces, including their eyes, noses, and mouths, particularly until after they have thoroughly washed their hands upon completing work and/or removing PPE.
• Communication and training should be easy to understand, in preferred language(s) spoken or read by the employees and include accurate and timely information.
- Emphasize use of images (infographics) that account for language differences.
• Topics should include, but not be limited to, signs and symptoms of infection, staying home when ill, social distancing, hand hygiene practices, and how the disease is spread (and how to minimize them) at work, at home, and in the community.
• Training should be reinforced with signs (preferably infographics), placed in easy-to-see locations, that direct employees how and when to use face coverings, how to report signs and symptoms of infection, and remind them to wash their hands.

How should you clean and disinfect a beauty salon/barbershop if a worker or customer is confirmed with COVID-19?

Cleaning staff should clean and disinfect offices, bathrooms, common areas, and shared equipment used by the ill person, focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces. If other workers do not have access to these areas or items, wait 24 hours (or as long as possible) before cleaning and disinfecting.

How Well Do Masks Work? (Schlieren Imaging In Slow Motion!)

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What are some of the recommendations for cleaning and disinfecting surfaces during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Clean and disinfect

• Clean high touch surfaces daily. This includes tables, doorknobs, light switches, countertops, handles, desks, phones, keyboards, toilets, faucets, and sinks.
• If someone is sick or has tested positive for COVID-19, disinfect frequently touched surfaces.

What should be done if a worker tests positive for COVID-19?

• Immediately separate workers or clients who report with or develop symptoms at the facility from other workers and clients and arrange for private transport home. These ill individuals should self-isolate and contact their health care provider immediately.

• Perform enhanced cleaning and disinfection after anyone suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 has been in the workplace. Cleaning staff should clean and disinfect offices, bathrooms, common areas, and shared equipment used by the ill person, focusing especially on frequently touched surfaces. If other workers do not have access to these areas or items, wait 24 hours (or as long as possible) before cleaning and disinfecting.

• Workers who test positive for COVID-19 should immediately notify their employer of their results.

What if an employee refuses to come to work for fear of infection?

• Your policies, that have been clearly communicated, should address this.
• Educating your workforce is a critical part of your responsibility.
• Local and state regulations may address what you have to do and you should align with them.

Should I wear a cloth mask if I work at a hair or nail salon during the COVID-19 pandemic?

The spread of COVID-19 can be reduced when cloth masks are used along with other preventive measures, including social distancing. A universal face covering policy can be effective in preventing the transmission of the virus in close-contact interactions, including within a salon.

Be careful when putting on and taking off cloth masks:
• Don't touch the cloth mask while wearing it.
• Don't touch your face, mouth, nose, or eyes while taking off the cloth mask.
• Wash your hands before putting on and after taking off the cloth mask.
• Wash the cloth mask after each use.

Consider carrying a spare cloth mask. If the cloth mask becomes wet, visibly soiled, or contaminated at work, it should be removed and stored to be laundered later.

What topics should employers consider for educating their employees on how to protect themselves from COVID-19 at work?

Topics should include signs and symptoms of infection, staying home when ill, social distancing, cloth face coverings, hand hygiene practices, and identifying and minimizing potential routes of transmission at work, at home, and in the community.

How to protect employees from the COVID-19?

Remind employees that people may be able to spread COVID-19 even if they do not show symptoms. Consider all close interactions (within 6 feet) with employees, clients, and others as a potential source of exposure. Discourage handshaking, hugs, and fist bumps.

Encourage the use of outdoor seating areas and social distancing for any small-group activities such as lunches, breaks, and meetings.

For employees who commute to work using public transportation or ride sharing, consider offering the following support: If feasible, offer employees incentives to use forms of transportation that minimize close contact with others (e.g., biking, walking, driving or riding by car either alone or with household members)

What can be done to protect employees who cannot maintain social distancing from other employees or customers?

Evaluate your workplace to identify situations where employees cannot maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from each other and/or customers. Use appropriate combinations of controls following the hierarchy of controls to addresses these situations to limit the spread of COVID-19. A committee of both employees and management may be the most effective way to recognize all of these scenarios.

It is important to note that control recommendations or interventions assigned to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19 must be compatible with any safety programs and personal protective equipment (PPE) normally required for the job task.

How can I prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease?

• Wash your hands often with plain soap and water. The CDC recommends washing your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing. If soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60 percent alcohol. Learn more about safely using hand sanitizer.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face covering or non-surgical mask when around others. Find more information about how to select, wear, and clean your mask.
• Avoid crowds and practice social distancing (stay at least 6 feet apart from others).
• Get the COVID-19 vaccine when it is offered to you.

What should workers know about cloth face coverings and the protection they provide?

• Cloth face coverings, whether provided by the employer or brought from home by the worker, are not respirators or disposable facemasks and do not protect the worker wearing them from exposures.
• Cloth face coverings are only intended to help contain the wearer's respiratory droplets from being spread.
• Used in this way, CDC has recommended cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19. Wearing them may help people who unknowingly have the virus from spreading it to others.
• Workers can wear a cloth face covering if the employer has determined that a respirator or a disposable facemask is NOT required based on the workplace hazard assessment.

What is CDC stance on face coverings in workplace?

CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings as a protective measure in addition to social distancing (i.e., staying at least 6 feet away from others). Cloth face coverings may be especially important when social distancing is not possible or feasible based on working conditions.

A cloth face covering may reduce the amount of large respiratory droplets that a person spreads when talking, sneezing, or coughing.

Are cloth face coverings the same as personal protective equipment (PPE)?

No, cloth face coverings are not PPE. These face coverings are not respirators and are not appropriate substitutes for them in workplaces where respirators are recommended or required for respiratory protection.

Should employees wear cloth face coverings at work during the COVID-19 pandemic?

CDC recommends wearing a cloth face covering as a measure to contain the wearer’s respiratory droplets and help protect others. Employees should not wear a cloth face covering if they have trouble breathing, cannot tolerate wearing it, or can’t remove it without help.

Cloth face coverings are not considered personal protective equipment and may not protect the wearers from exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19. However, cloth face coverings may prevent workers, including those who don’t know they have the virus, from spreading it to others.

Remind employees and clients that CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are hard to maintain, especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. Wearing a cloth face covering, however, does not replace the need to practice social distancing.

When is a cloth face covering not appropriate while at work?

Cloth face coverings can prevent the wearer from spreading COVID-19 to others, but they may not always be appropriate. Employees should consider using an alternative under certain conditions at work, including:

• If they have trouble breathing.
• If they are unable to remove it without help.
• If it interferes with vision, glasses, or eye protection.
• If straps, strings, or other parts of the covering could get caught in equipment.
• If other work hazards associated with wearing the covering are identified and cannot be addressed without removal of the face covering.

Cloth face coverings should not be worn if their use creates a new risk (e.g., interferes with driving or vision, contributes to heat-related illness) that exceeds their benefit of slowing the spread of the virus.

Should a healthcare worker use cloth masks during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Until a cloth mask design is proven to be equally effective as a medical or N95 mask, wearing cloth masks should not be mandated for healthcare workers.

Can I be forced to work during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Generally, your employer may require you to come to work during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some government emergency orders may affect which businesses can remain open during the pandemic. Under federal law, you are entitled to a safe workplace. Your employer must provide a safe and healthful workplace.

Am I eligible for PUA benefits if I quit my job because of COVID-19?

There are multiple qualifying circumstances related to COVID-19 that can make an individual eligible for PUA, including if the individual quits his or her job as a direct result of COVID-19. Quitting to access unemployment benefits is not one of them.

Under what health conditions should an employee not enter the workspace during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Consider encouraging individuals planning to enter the workplace to self-screen prior to coming onsite and not to attempt to enter the workplace if any of the following are present:

• Symptoms of COVID-19
  
• Fever equal to or higher than 100.4°F*
  
• Are under evaluation for COVID-19 (for example, waiting for the results of a viral test to confirm infection)
  
• Have been diagnosed with COVID-19 and not yet cleared to discontinue isolation

*A lower temperature threshold (e.g., 100.0°F) may be used, especially in healthcare settings.

What steps should you take after coming into close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19?

• Stay home for 14 days after your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.
• Watch for fever (100.4◦F), cough, shortness of breath, or other symptoms of COVID-19.
• If possible, stay away from others, especially people who are at higher risk for getting very sick from COVID-19.

What should I do if I've been exposed to a person with COVID-19 and I have fully recovered from a COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days?

Someone who tested positive for COVID-19 with a viral test within the previous 90 days and has subsequently recovered and remains without COVID-19 symptoms does not need to quarantine. However, close contacts with prior COVID-19 infection in the previous 90 days should:
• Wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days after exposure.
• Monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and isolate immediately if symptoms develop.
• Consult with a healthcare professional for testing recommendations if new symptoms develop.

Who is considered a close contact of someone with COVID-19?

For COVID-19, a close contact is anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for a total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period (for example, three individual 5-minute exposures for a total of 15 minutes). An infected person can spread COVID-19 starting from 2 days before they have any symptoms (or, if they are asymptomatic, 2 days before their specimen that tested positive was collected), until they meet the criteria for discontinuing home isolation.