Salons, beauty parlors should remain closed until certification is given - health ministry

COLOMBO (News1st): All salons and beauty parlors should remain closed until they are given a certification to resume operations, the health ministry said on Tuesday. "A list of guidelines will be issued by the director-general of health on reopening saloons and beauty parlors in due course," the ministry said in a statement. This was after health minister Pavithra Wanniarachchi said that salons and beauty parlors could be kept open provided that they abide by the health guidelines. The ministry clarified that such facilities which require to resume services should obtain these guidelines from the public health inspector's (PHI) office in their area. "The PHI, upon being informed, will visit salons and beauty parlors to inspect whether the necessary environment and facilities have been set-up in keeping with the guidelines," the statement read. The PHI officer will then be required to submit observations on the facility to the respective medical health officers, who would issue certificates granting permission to reopen the facilities. "Accordingly, all beauty parlors and salons in the country should be kept closed until the certification is given," the statement stressed.