Mumbai: Salons, barber shops, beauty parlours reopen after over three months, allowed with restrictions

Some salons in Mumbai, which reopened in the city on Sunday after some three months, were seen following government guidelines like the use of sanitisers and checking temperatures of customers.

Under the second phase of unlocking, the Maharashtra government has given relaxation in many sectors and allowed grooming outlets to open from today in the State.

Faheem Sheikh, owner of a salon in Ghatkopar is ready with PPE kits. He told news agency ANI, "The customers are taking prior appointment before coming to the salon. We have received many calls from our regular customers. I want to thanks the government for thinking about us, it has come as a big relief to us."

"We sanitise every equipment before use. The salon is also sanitised every 2 hours," he added.

He further said, "We have put a copy of the government`s norms and guidelines outside the salon. This is the first day and we have been getting many calls from customers for haircuts and other services that we provide.We have many customers waiting but we are taking only limited customers as we have to maintain social distancing."

Maharashtra: Barber shops & salons gear up to reopen from June 28 in Mumbai. Shahid Hussain, a salon owner, says, "We will record customers' temperatures & provide them with hand sanitisers when they enter our shop. We will use new towel & haircut seat for each customer." pic.twitter.com/BWEAqLCpY6

— ANI (@ANI) June 27, 2020

Gaurav Patil, a customer who came for a hair cut said, "I am glad to see that the salon reopened. I did not get a proper haircut for a long time. Although my father has cut my hair at home during the lockdown we know that the haircut done at the salon and home are different. I am a student and during online classes, this haircut will look decent now.

Another customer said I would like to thank the government for allowing the salons to function. After the reopening of offices, it is important as we have to go to the office. Also, we are taking precautions and so is this salon."

The Maharashtra government has issued a notification to reopen barbershops, salons and beauty parlours in the state under its Mission 'Begin Again' Phase IV. According to the notification, barbershops, salons, and beauty parlours will be allowed to function with prior appointments only. Only select services such as haircut, dyeing hair, threading, etc are allowed. Skin related services will not be permitted presently. This should prominently be displayed in the shops.

The order also said the salons should adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) on hygiene and cleanliness and employees must wear protective gear including gloves, aprons, and masks.

Maharashtra continues to be the epicenter of the coronavirus spread where the number of cases has witnessed an even large spike recently. According to the Health Ministry, Maharashtra has the highest number of cases with 1,59,133 positive cases of COVID-19 infection and 7,273 deaths. As many as 6,368 new cases were reported in the state in the last 24 hours.

Notably, Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, has become the hotbed of the coronavirus spread in the state where the number of cases has crossed the 72,000-mark and the death toll has topped the 4,000-mark as well. At 9:30 AM on this day, the COVID-19 tally in Mumbai showed 72,175 cases and 4,179 deaths.

One of the real challenges in Mumbai is controlling the disease contamination in Asia's biggest slum -- Dharavi, which is an extremely densely-populated region.

Meanwhile, with nearly 20,000 new cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 count on Sunday crossed the 5.20 lakh-mark, while the death toll has crossed the 16,000-mark as well.

As the coronavirus cases in India continue to spread rapidly, India is now just behind the United States, Brazil, and Russia in terms of the total confirmed cases. It is, therefore, the biggest epicenter of the coronavirus disease pandemic in Asia and the fourth worst-affected nation in the world.

(With ANI inputs)