AFG COVID-19 UPDATE

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Dear colleagues,

 

I'm sure you have received more communications regarding COVID 19 than you care to read. But in an effort to keep you informed of issues relevant to our work, I want to notify you of the latest government restrictions on us as practitioners.

 

We are far too small a profession to receive a direct instruction to close or not: we must find our line in the sand by connecting information that impacts other sectors in the work force.

The services we provide are non-essential. Some "non-essential" businesses are being asked to close their doors, but not all.

 

In Wednesday’s release of new measures, the "Leisure and Recreation" sector saw closed:

• Community recreation centres

• Fitness clubs

• Wellness centres

• Yoga classes

• Boot camps indoor and out (unless outdoors with 10 or less participants and social distancing measures in place)

 

Furthermore, the "Beauty and Personal care" sector had these closures applied to it:

• Beauty therapy

• Tanning studios

• Waxing

• Tattoo studios

• Massage

• Hairdressers and barbers (allowed to trade if 4sqm per person limits apply and 30-minute time limits on appointments)

 

At the moment, Physiotherapists are allowed to trade, which further complicates things within our particular community.

 

I would ask you all to assess these latest measures and their implications to your own working circumstances carefully. It is my advice that you make choices in your work that protect yourselves and contribute to protecting the broader community.

 

I know some of you have already started to adapt to this by pausing class programs or holding online classes. This shows resilience and responsiveness, traits that we will all need. Shortly, we will be posting on the AFG website some more detailed information. I strongly recommend that you read it. You will be notified when it goes live. If you decide to continue your practice, remember the strict rules of hygiene, keep up to date with government advice and check your insurance.

 

On a human note, I would like to add that people you know will contract COVID 19 through no fault of their own, and those people will transmit it to others, again through no ill intent. Our task in this is not to prevent all cases; that is impossible now. More, our task is to turn what, if left unmitigated, would have been one thousand transmissions into five hundred. Please be mindful of that when navigating your work and life.

 

Kind regards,

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Shane McCamish

AFG President