In his national address on Wednesday 17 June, Cyril Rampahosa announced the government’s move to an ‘accelerated’ version of Level 3. This will allow small businesses and select eateries to reopen, including beauty salons, hairdressers, and tattoo parlours. He stated that the reopening of these businesses is of particular importance, as the majority of them are owned and operated by women.

It is good news that a large percentage of the country can return to earning an income, and mitigate the effects the pandemic has wrought on our economy. What was more surprising than anything was the rapidity with which the government had decided to allow certain businesses to reopen – a mere 48 hours after his address, beauty and tattoo parlours, as well as hairdressers, were allowed to open their doors to the public once more.

The safety professional in me has to ask – surely people needed more time to ensure they are compliant? While I am certain many have had the necessary measures in place to ensure they, their employees and their clients, are protected for some time, there were bound to be new and updated requirements from our government?

How do you ensure your business can open – and stay open?

While many of us focus on the opportunity for our businesses to reopen, our concerns often don’t extend far beyond that. This is evident in the large component of businesses that reopened over the last six weeks, only to be summarily shut just weeks after they were given the green light, because they failed to ensure total compliance to the new COVID-19 regulations. As the old adage goes – more speed, less haste.

NOSA would like to extend an offer to assist. We appreciate that as a small business, your commitment to comply may be hampered by a lack of proper instruction or information on exactly what you are required to do. We can assist you to ensure you have thoroughly readied and prepared both your workplace and workforce, through the following COVID-19 solutions:

• Employee induction training
• Employer implementation training
• Legal and readiness assessments
• Surface and environmental testing
• Legal compliance
• Disinfectant efficacy testing and alcohol content analysis

We understand that this is an extremely stressful time, and commit to assisting all our clients as you strive to bring your services back online. Please feel free to contact me personally to assist with your needs analysis.

Yours in safety,

Chantal Gray

Managing Director: NOSA (Pty) Ltd