Today the Minister for the Interior Sandis Ģirģens met with the Latvian Association of Beauty Specialists and the Latvian Association of Beauticians and Cosmetologists to hear the current situation in the industry after the declaration of the state of emergency, as well as, to discuss possible self-regulatory solutions for the industry to observe and improve epidemiological safety measures.
During the meeting the Minister signed the Memorandum of understanding with industry associations on sustainable solutions to meet epidemiological requirements and ensure public safety.
"In the beauty sector more than 90% of service providers are women, including single mothers, and most of them have no family savings or social guarantees. At the same time, discussing with the associations the measures taken to ensure epidemiological safety, I can conclude that the industry carried out them with the utmost care already before the state of emergency - customers arrive by appointment, without encountering other visitors, service providers work with face masks and face shields, disinfection of the premises and place is performed after each client, as well as, an area of at least 10 square meters per person is provided. I will call on the government to review the restrictions on this sector, as it is able to ensure high epidemiological safety measures, while the ban on providing services forces the sector to provide services at home, which means lower epidemiological requirements, ” admits the Interior Minister Sandis Ģirģens.
"In the beauty sector, services are provided by certified medical practitioners, cosmetologists and podiatrists which are registered in the register of the Health Inspectorate and which were also required to comply with Covid-19 precautions to protect against various diseases, such as hepatitis B. It is therefore incomprehensible to turn against our industry, which is, in fact, one of the most conscientious and secure to date. I believe that a ban on operating in an emergency situation will force the industry to go underground. Specialists will be forced to continue their professional activities at home, the return of which to legal activities will be problematic,” points out Renāte Reinsone, President of the Latvian Association of Beauticians and Cosmetologists.
"No one can confirm to us that someone has been infected with the new virus from a cosmetologist, so the restrictions imposed are disproportionate to the real situation. The beauty industry had not recovered from the first wave of the virus and providers have no savings. At the same time, industry professionals must continue to pay for premises and utilities. Those working legally in this sector are currently very vulnerable to financial difficulties. As service providers, we each primarily have to ensure the safety of the customer and their own. By banning the provision of these services legally, we as associations and the state as a whole lose control over the industry, for which we as an association had joined in recent years and achieved good results when service providers registered in the register of the Health Inspectorate, "I call on industry to engage in a joint dialogue on how we can improve epidemiological security measures within each industry and the existing Covid-19 security certificate that is being developed for each. I continue to believe that these two sectors can provide the epidemiological requirements at a level that will allow them to continue working on the spot in the current circumstances,” says Ģirģens.
The Minister for the Interior has started a cycle of negotiations with the sectors with the aim of improving the fulfillment of epidemiological conditions in the country. The Minister has previously publicly stated the need to find self-regulatory mechanisms as an alternative to allow the catering and beauty industry to retain the opportunity to receive visitors on site and provide on-site services. In turn, the industry itself should be prepared to ensure compliance with the epidemiological requirements according to the strictest criteria of the Covid-19 epidemiological safety certificate. Ģirģens reminds the public that every participation is very important in controlling the virus - distance and observance of the established epidemiological safety measures by both the population and businesses. The need to visit public places must be assessed, but if this is done, precautions must be taken. Only the initiative of each can limit the spread of the virus, which is important for industries to continue to operate and provide jobs, thus reducing future economic, social and security risks.
Prepared:
Alice Snegireva
Adviser to the Minister of the Interior on
Communication matters
E-mail: alise.snegireva@iem.gov.lv