The hairdressers are pressing ahead of the next joint corona summit of the federal and state governments on Wednesday for quick opening perspectives for their salons. A large part of the often small businesses is in “acute existential need”.
In Baden-Württemberg, hairdressers hope that their salons will open quickly. Adhering to the sharp lockdown measures for the hairdressing trade beyond February 14 can no longer be justified, said the managing director of the professional association hairdressing and cosmetics Baden-Württemberg, Matthias Moser, the German press agency. He also justified this attitude with the financial hardship with which many small hairdressing businesses are confronted.
“Our craft needs a return to normalcy, otherwise there is no future for many.”
–
Professional association: 60 percent of hairdressers in acute need of existence
Moser emphasized that a quick restart was necessary for the hairdressers, especially “in view of the many inadequate and limited aid measures by the state”. The situation is serious: “We are assuming that around 60 percent of all businesses are in dire need of existence at the moment. We have already been notified of plant closures.”
Download video (6.2 MB | MP4)
High occupational safety standards in the salons
On top of that, Moser was convinced that hairdressing salons were “not a source of danger for the virus to spread”. The occupational safety standards in most companies are high. According to the employers’ liability insurance association, since the pandemic began in spring 2020, only 22 corona cases have been reported by hairdressers nationwide – even though there are 80,000 businesses with 240,000 employees in Germany, explained Moser.
Federal Interior Minister Seehofer believes that loosening is possible
According to Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU), hairdressing salons should be allowed to reopen soon. “In the current situation I am clearly in favor of an extension of the corona protective measures,” the CSU politician told the “Spiegel”. “But we should take back those measures that obviously do not have any protective effect,” he added. “A downright black market” has developed among hairdressers. More and more people would have their hair cut in other ways and without hygiene concepts. That is much more dangerous than allowing barber shops with a strict hygiene concept to open.
Corona summit next Wednesday
The federal and state governments want to vote on the current lockdown measures on Wednesday. The focus then should be whether the current restrictions will be extended beyond February 14th or possibly relaxed. According to its own information, the Professional Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetics Baden-Württemberg represents around a third of the approximately 11,000 hairdressing businesses in Baden-Württemberg.
– .
