LONDON, ONT. -- There is no getting around it, hairstylists in London say the third shutdown in just over 12 months is simply cutting too close.
“When we close we have no revenue,” says Ryan Ford, the owner of J.S. Ryan & Co. on Ridout Street. “We have proper PPE and proper sanitization and the data shows that we have not been a significant contributor to COVID cases.”
To make matter worse, Ryan says he's in a very unique situation because he signed the lease for the property in January of 2020, opened up the shop in July and therefore he doesn't qualify for any government assistance.
He adds, “We are not eligible for any, any government support whatsoever because we are a new business."
In St. Thomas, Greg Dennis, the owner of Black Comb Barbershop on Ross Street calls the latest closure unfair.
“It's kind of hard having a boom and a bust, constantly having a roller coaster. You don't know if you're going to be busy or shutdown, “ says Dennis.
“I'd like to see more consistency across the board with the health units and restrictions,” he adds. “I don't like seeing a lot of double standards like dental hygienists stay open but we can't.”
Both Ford and Dennis would like to see the latest rules amended.
Ford says, “We are not anti-maskers, or anti-vaccine, we are just normal human beings that want to operate our businesses and have a livelihood.”
