England Close Contact Services Government Guidelines Update

 
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Following on from an update on the 10th of September in the government guidance, where it was announced that that practitioners should wear both a clear visor or goggles and a Type II face mask to keep their clients safe, the guidelines have offered new changes on the 11th of September.

The main changes for the guidelines now are:

Guidance on Googles

Goggles may be used as an alternative to a clear visor, when worn with a Type II face mask. Goggles provide eye protection to the wearer. To be worn in place of a clear visor, goggles should be polycarbonate safety spectacles or equivalent. Reusable eye protection should be cleaned according to the manufacturer’s instructions. ​

Drink to Customers are Permissible

Salons can provide hot or cold drinks to clients in disposable cups or bottles. Practitioners should encourage clients to only remove their mask to consume the drink. When clients have removed their masks, practitioners should ensure they are socially distanced from the client (2m, or 1m with mitigations).​

Mandatory Track and Trace

In order to ensure that businesses are able to remain open, the government has mandated that the test and trace system is used to collect details of those visiting business premises. Businesses providing close contact services will be required to ensure that anyone entering their premises provides their contact information before being allowed entry to the venue. Any business that is found not to be compliant with these regulations will be subject to financial penalties. 

Businesses must also keep records of staff working patterns for a period of 21 days to assist NHS Test and Trace contain clusters or outbreaks

Information to collect

The following information should be collected by the venue, where possible:

  • staff

    • the names of staff who work at the premises

    • a contact phone number for each member of staff

    • the dates and times that staff are at work

  • customers and visitors

    • the name of the customer or visitor. If there is more than one person, then you can record the name of the ‘lead member’ of the group and the number of people in the group

    • a contact phone number for each customer or visitor, or for the lead member of a group of people

    • date of visit, arrival time and, where possible, departure time

    • if a customer will interact with only one member of staff (e.g. a hairdresser), the name of the assigned staff member should be recorded alongside the name of the customer

 
Business and EducationNatalia Kulak