Hair salons, barbershops, and spas finally reopened Monday in Michigan for the first time since they were shut down in mid-March.
During the reopening, employees of the Woodhouse Day Spa in Detroit were not only busy doing facials, body treatments, and manicures, but also working to maintain all the new coronavirus (COVID-19) safety guidelines that have been put in place.
Cheryl Hudson, owner of Woodhouse Day Spa Detroit says a lot of thought and preparation went into making sure Monday’s reopening was safe.
“We have done a number of things to keep our customers and staff safe,” she said. “For one, we made sure to get a deep clean inside of our building. All of our staff are required to take the COVID-19 test and can only return with a negative result from the test. We also provide daily temperature checks of our customers and staff, before they are able to come into the spa.”
The staff and customers are also required to wear a face mask covering their mouth and nose at all times when inside of the building, says Hudson.
“We are changing a few things in the way we provide service,” she explained. “All of our rooms will be disinfected after each service. No more than ten people in the building at a time and we are continuing to practice social distancing.”
Spas, hair salons, barbershops, and tattoo shops were one on the first to shut down and one of the last to reopen in Michigan due to the Governor’s executive order.
Our spa has been affected tremendously, due to COVID-19, says Hudson.
“We are now re-opening only 4 to 5 days a week versus 7 days a week. Our staff hours have been reduced,” she said. “We will try to expand our hours once we see an increase with people willing to come in. We understand that people are trying to get back to normal, but safely.”
The sacrifice we’ve made is paying off, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said.
“When you look at how we compare to the rest of the nation, we can see this was a virus that hit us aggressively. We’ve had a uniquely tough time with COVID-19. We took the steps we needed to start to save lives and build up our (personal protective equipment) and our testing capability.
“But COVID-19 is still very present here in Michigan. That’s why it’s up to all of us to keep doing our part.”
Gov. Whitmer signed a pair of executive orders Friday. Executive Order 2020-114 sets safety guidelines for reopening for all businesses or operations that require their employees to leave their home for work. Businesses must provide COVID-19 training to employees, develop a COVID-19 response plan, develop a self-screening protocol for employees, and keep employees 6 feet apart when possible or require them to wear masks when they can’t.
In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.
Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.
I don’t think we will ever get back to the old normal, Hudson said.
“We are hoping we will be able to sustain our business. Back in the old days on Fridays and Saturdays we would be packed, but now we can only have so many on-premise at a time,” she explained. “We are hoping we will gain revenue with all of these restrictions.”
We want to continue to be that ‘staycation’ away from home, she said.
“We are hoping that people will come and visit us to take a break away from zoom meetings and homework. We have gone over and beyond to make sure our service is clean and virus free and offer service that our customers are accustomed to having at our spa.
Woodhouse Day Spa is located at 1447 Woodward Ave in Detroit. For more information visit, https://detroit.woodhousespas.com/.
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