North Carolina Reopening Checklist for Salons, Massage, and Personal Care Businesses

Title Page

Conducted on
Prepared by
Location
Business/Facility Name

Social Distancing and Minimizing Exposure

Limit occupancy to no more than 50 percent of the stated fire capacity or 12 per 1,000 square feet if there is not a fire code number readily available AND ensure sufficient social distancing with at least 6-foot separation between patrons
Post the reduced “Emergency Maximum Capacity” in a noticeable place. Sign templates are available in English and Spanish on the NC DHHS COVID-19 response site.
Arrange or use seating so that customers are separated from one another by six (6) feet.
Mark six (6) feet of spacing in lines at the point of sale and in other high-traffic areas for customers, such as at cash registers.
Post signage at the main entrance that reminds people to use face coverings and wash hands. Know Your W's sign templates are available in English and Spanish on the NC DHHS COVID-19 response site.
Direct customers to stay at least six (6) feet apart from one another.
Provide marks on the floors of restrooms and locker rooms to indicate proper social distancing. When sinks are not 6 feet apart, consider limiting use to every other sink. If possible, designate entrance and exit doors for restrooms and locker rooms so occupants do not come face to face.
Provide social distancing floor markings for customers in the check-out area.
Space areas where services will be provided such as salon chairs at least 6 feet apart. Designate which chairs are to be used, and which may not be used, if chairs are less than 6 feet apart.
Close your waiting room, all common seating areas, and lounge areas. o Consider requiring appointment for customers. o Provide alternate notification procedures for customers where they can wait in the car or outside until their appointment
Encourage the use of plexi-glass or a similar barrier between customer and employee during face-to-face services that cannot be completed without close contact, such as a manicure.
Keep closed all areas where social distancing cannot be maintained, such as saunas, steam rooms, and whirlpools.
Limit use of shared areas such as shampooing areas or other common areas so that social distancing can be maintained.
Consider staggering appointment times so that social distancing is achievable, especially if limited resources are available.
Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possibly by opening windows and doors, using fans, or other methods. Do not open windows and doors if they pose a safety or health risk to people using the facility.

Cloth Face Coverings

Have employees wear cloth face coverings during appointments, due to length of visit and the inability to social distance. An FAQ about face coverings is available in English and Spanish.
Have all customers wear a cloth face covering during appointments.
Provide cloth face coverings for employees and customers. If provided, they must be single use or properly laundered using hot water and a high heat dryer between uses.
Share guidance to employees on use, wearing, and removal of cloth face coverings, such as CDC’s guidance on wearing and removing cloth face masks, CDC’s use of cloth face coverings, and CDC’s cloth face coverings FAQ’s.

Cleaning and Hygiene

Perform ongoing and routine environmental cleaning and disinfection of high-touch areas (e.g., doors, doorknobs, rails, faucet handles, toilet handles) with an EPA approved disinfectant for SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19), and increase the frequency of disinfection during peak times or high customer density times and disinfect all shared objects (e.g., payment terminals, tables) between use. ❑ Disinfect equipment and furniture in service areas, such as chairs, capes, and shampooing chairs, between customers.
Provide, whenever available, hand sanitizer (with at least 60% alcohol) at the entrance and other areas. Systematically and frequently check and refill hand sanitizers (at least 60% alcohol) and assure soap and hand drying materials are available at sinks.
Require handwashing of staff immediately before each and every appointment.
Provide tissues and trash containers for proper cough and sneeze hygiene.
If towel service is provided, soiled towels must be kept in closed containers, handled minimally by employees, and employees must wash hands immediately after handling soiled linens. Towels should be washed and dried on high heat

Monitoring for Symptoms

Employees who have symptoms when they arrive at work or become sick during the day should immediately be separated from other employees, customers, and visitors and sent home.
Conduct daily symptom screening (use this standard interview questionnaire ) (English|Spanish) of employees at entrance to workplace with immediately sending symptomatic workers home to isolate.
Post signage at the main entrance requesting that people who have been symptomatic with fever and/or cough not enter, such as Know Your Ws/Stop if You Have Symptoms flyers (English - Color, Black & White; Spanish - Color, Black & White).
Have a plan in place for immediately removing employees from work if symptoms develop.
Establish and enforce sick leave policies to prevent the spread of disease, including: o Enforcing employees staying home if sick. o Encouraging liberal use of sick leave policy. o Expanding paid leave policies to allow employees to stay home when sick.
Per CDC guidelines, if an employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is presumed positive by a medical professional due to symptoms, the employee should be excluded from work until: Interim Guidance for Salons and Personal Care Business Settings 4 o No fever for at least 72 hours since recovery (without the use of fever-reducing medicine) AND o Other symptoms have improved (e.g., coughing, shortness of breath) AND o At least 10 days have passed since the first symptoms
Per CDC guidelines, if an employee has been diagnosed with COVID-19 but does not have symptoms, they should remain out of work until 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive COVID-19 diagnostic test, assuming they have not subsequently developed symptoms since their positive test.
Require symptomatic employees to wear masks until leaving the facility. Cleaning and disinfecting procedures should be implemented by designated personnel following CDC guidelines once sick employee leaves.
Provide employees with information on help lines to access information or other support in reference to COVID-19, e.g. 211 and Hope4NC Helpline (1-855-587-3463).

Protecting Vulnerable Populations

Designate a specific time for persons at higher risk to access the venue without the general population (such as early morning, or late afternoon).
Enable employees to self-identify as high risk for severe disease and reassign work to minimize face-to-face contact and to allow them to maintain a distance of six feet from others, or to telework if possible.

Combatting Misinformation

Make information available to workers about COVID-19 prevention and mitigation strategies, using methods like videos, webinars, or printed materials like FAQs. Some reliable sources include NC DHHS COVID-19, Know Your Ws: Wear, Wait, Wash, NC DHHS COVID-19 Latest Updates, NC DHHS COVID-19 Materials & Resources
Put up signs and posters, such as those found Know Your Ws: Wear, Wait, Wash and those found Social Media Toolkit for COVID-19.

Water and Ventilation Systems

Follow the CDC’s Guidance for Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation to minimize the risk of diseases associated with water.
Ensure ventilation systems operate properly and increase the circulation of outdoor air as much as possible by opening windows and doors, using fans, or other methods. Do not open windows and doors if they pose a safety or health risk to people using the facility.