Shutdown a fresh blow for hard-hit businesses
BUSINESSES already struggling with the coronavirus pandemic have reacted to the fortnight-long firebreak which will shut down much of Wales.
Hairdressers and salons have struggled since March, having been able to return to trading only after introducing significant social distancing measures on their premises.
The announcement they will have to close again for two weeks has been met with resignation.
Ben Turner, studio manager of Frontier Tattoo Parlour on Cardiff’s St Mary Street, said: “We were just getting back to somewhere near normal, and now this.
“Our studio is cleaner than ever. We’ve always been very clean, but because of the changes and precautions we’ve had to introduce, we are even cleaner.
“We are fortunate in a way because we had bookings four or five months ahead, and we have been catching up on them.
“But it does mean we have had people who have been booked in for a tattoo in April, who we probably won’t be able to see now before the new year.”
Sharon Davey, of Mankind barbers in Sketty, Swansea, said: “We are going to have to close and there’s nothing we can do about that.
“We hope it is just going to be the two weeks, but who knows? We don’t know if there’s going to be any financial help yet either.
“We’re already operating at half our capacity – we’re not as busy as we used to be, and it is all appointments, we don’t do walk-ins.
“We were just beginning to get busier; we’ve adapted our premises, we’ve got screens in place.
“It is going to be a busy week before the fire-break starts. But I guess we have to do what has to be done to be safe.”
Theresa Henson, of Sid’s Barber Shop on Newport’s Cromwell Road, said: “This week I’m trying to do two or three weeks’ worth of appointments in a single week.
“I have been working lately from 8am in the morning until seven or eight in the evening, trying to do as many appointments as possible.
“I’ve spent a lot of money on getting the place safe, not just for my customers but also for myself.
“The virus is here and it is genuine and I know people have lost lives, but I’m not sure the whole industry should be tarnished.
“I know I have done what I can to be safe, but there are other premises that have not, and we are now all having to close.”
Sue Doan, of nail bar Carmarthen Nails on the town’s Blue Street, said: “We have put distancing measures in place but it all costs money.
“It is hard to find the money for everything, and I would hope the Government is going to help us financially with this lockdown.
“But I understand why they are doing it.”
Sophie Walters, of HairPort Hair in
Merthyr Tydfil, said: “I think people are probably a lot safer in our salon than they are in places like Tesco or other big supermarkets.
“We’ve spent a lot of money on PPE and putting other safety measures in place.
“And yet we’ve got less clients than we would have normally, so that isn’t good.
“We thought something like this might be coming so we’ve been preparing this week, although we don’t know how hard it is going to hit.
“We have been absolutely manic because people do not know when they might be able to get their hair cut again.”
It was a similar message from Luke James, of Groom for Men in Penarth.
“My fear is that after two weeks they will review it and push the date back again and again.
“We’ve spent a lot of money on making the place safe, and we were just getting back into the swing of things.
“But we saw a leaked letter over the weekend that suggested this was on the way, so we have been preparing for it.
“We’ve got some extra staff in to cope with the demand, and we are opening later into the night more than we usually do.
“I’m a bit cynical about the whole thing.
“I think we have to protect the people who are vulnerable, but perhaps we should just suck it and see, like the Scandinavian countries.”