Personal Service Settings (PSS) must comply with the PSS Regulation in addition to Ontario's Emergency Orders under the Emergency Measures and Civil Protection Act (EMCPA) and guidance from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU). Employers are obligated to protect their workers from hazards in the workplace as set out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations.
This guidance document was developed to support owners and operators of PSS as they reopen their businesses, while reducing the risk to staff and customers of contracting COVID-19. Personal service settings include establishments that specialize in:
- Hairstyling
- Barbering
- Tattooing
- Micropigmentation
- Ear and body piercing
- Electrolysis
- Tanning
- Nail salons
- Aesthetic services
COVID-19 Transmission
COVID-19 is a virus that is mainly spread from person to person through close contact with an infected person’s respiratory droplets. The droplets can travel up to two metres when we talk, cough or sneeze. We can also come in contact with droplets when we touch contaminated surfaces and then touch our eyes, nose or mouth. COVID-19 can survive on some surfaces for up to three days.
In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, it is imperative that the following measures are followed:
- Stay home when you are sick.
- Keep a two-metre/six-feet distance from others, when possible.
- Wash your hands often and avoid touching your face with unwashed hands.
- Cough or sneeze in the bend of your elbow.
- Wear a face mask when the two-metre distance between individuals cannot be maintained or when in an enclosed public setting. See How to safely wear a mask.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
- Information and Communication
- Ensure that all measures you decide on are well communicated to staff and clients.
- Ensure all workers are trained on COVID-19 transmission, appropriate PPE use (if applicable), steps being used to protect them and how they can protect themselves.
- Follow all local public health unit warnings, directions and recommendations pertaining to COVID-19.
Restrictions Include:
- Prohibiting services that tend to a customer’s face, such as facials, facial hair grooming/shaving, eyebrow grooming, eyelash tinting/extensions, eyebrow threading/waxing/micro-pigmentation/piercings, and makeup and any service on the nose, ears or face, as well as oxygen bars.
- Steam rooms, saunas and bath houses must remain closed.
- Baths, hot tubs, floating pools and sensory deprivation pods are closed except for therapeutic purposes prescribed by or administered by a regulated health professional.
- Change rooms and showers for water amenities will be available to the public if operators have the ability to adequately sanitize and disinfect the facilities.
- Note: A business may open to provide other permitted services even if a restricted activity is its primary service (e.g., a facial salon can open to provide other services).