Beauty salons in NSW will be able to open for business in one week as the state government further eases COVID-19 restrictions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
"Of all the requests I've had as health minister, this one topped the barrel," an upbeat NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced on Sunday.
"A big day for women in our community, a big day for everybody in the community - beauty salons are open, tanning salons, nail salons, waxing salons - how good is this Sunday?"
Beauty salons will be allowed to begin treatments from June 1 but strict new rules will apply.
Before reopening, businesses will require a COVID-19 safe plan which includes removing books and magazines from waiting areas, stepping up hygiene protocols and keeping a record of attendance.
No more than 10 clients will be allowed inside salons at any one time and four square metres of space must be allowed per person.
Mr Hazzard also flagged that the government was looking closely at a number of other industries.
"Certainly gyms, I think if beauty therapy and waxing salons and tanning salons were first on the list in terms of what people would like open, I'd say gyms are probably second," he said.
However, "it is fair to say there are some particular inherent issues with the use of equipment in gyms."
It comes as NSW on Sunday recorded one new coronavirus case - a returned traveller from the United Kingdom - from more than 6800 tests.
Meanwhile, hundreds of extra transport staff including security and marshalling officers will be out across NSW from Monday as students return to public schools full-time and more people return to work.
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the officers will be monitoring social distancing on public transport.
"It's a real challenge," he told reporters.
"Transport is the high-risk area. It's the area where people can crowd and congregate."
Transport NSW CEO Howard Collins urged commuters to avoid peak hour travel and continue working from home if possible.
"It's about prioritising our school students," he told reporters.
In a statement on Sunday, the Electrical Trades Union said workers are concerned "surging passenger numbers ... combined with ongoing cuts to rail maintenance were a recipe for disaster".
"As social distancing restrictions are eased, allowing school students to return and businesses to reopen, the last thing we need is train breakdowns causing large numbers of commuters to be stuck together in confined carriages or on crowded platforms," ETU secretary Justin Page said.
The union is urging the state government to immediately reverse maintenance cuts and invest in maintenance and infrastructure upgrades to protect commuters from unplanned delays.
In a statement on Sunday, a spokeswoman said the recent decrease in patronage on the Sydney Trains network due to COVID-19 had allowed for an accelerated program of maintenance on trains, tracks and the network to improve services before students returned to school and people returned to work.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet on Sunday announced zoos, reptile parks and aquariums would also be reopening from June 1.
Extra safety measures will be in place including enhanced cleaning and limited visitor numbers so that four square metres of space is allowed per person.
The Berejiklian government also announced a $50 million package to support art and cultural organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funds will be delivered in two stages, with the first stage to support not-for-profit art and cultural organisations to hibernate temporarily with the second stage to help them restart operations in the coming months.
Australian Associated Press
