Coronavirus: Nail salons prepare to reopen as restrictions set to ease

Beauty salons across Canberra are preparing to reopen in the hope coronavirus restrictions will be eased as early as the weekend.

The ACT government will on Tuesday announce what stage two of its plan to reopen will look like, which is due to come into effect from Saturday.

The changes are expected to include increased patron limits for venues serving food - possibly allowing 20 people per enclosed space or 50 across a whole business.

They may also allow gyms, fitness centres, beauty salons, cinemas and cultural institutions to reopen in some capacity.

Nono Nails in Civic was forced to suddenly close-up shop due to COVID-19 restrictions.

"We had to cancel our bookings - we had a lot of customers who had booked a few months in advance and we had to cancel them all," co-owner Elva Zhao said.

While Ms Zhao said closing was "depressing, both emotionally and financially" they had managed to stay positive.

"I think the different thing for us is that we're always holding a very positive attitude," she said.

"We think the lockdown and the closing [of our store] is essential for community health."

Ms Zhao said her landlord was very supportive and without his assistance the business would be doing it tough.

She said she was confident that once they were able to reopen, business will go back to normal.

"We are very confident about that because our customer base are really loyal," Ms Zhao said.

Elegant Image day spa owner Leonard Beacham said reopening soon was imperative to "stave off bankruptcy".

He was frustrated the ACT government was yet to provide a timeline for reopening.

He said businesses "should have been updated with this information weeks ago" to prepare to reopen.

"I don't know at this stage whether this government will allow us to open on Monday. The other states do know," Mr Beacham said.

He said the business had been "swamped" with bookings for a tentative opening next week and he only hoped that would hold up.

Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said jurisdictions were taking their own time to ease restrictions.

"I'm not going to preempt ... any announcement from the Chief Minister tomorrow," Ms Stephen-Smith said on Monday.

"But we will be looking at what makes the most sense in terms of our jurisdiction, and the advice we have from our chief health officer.

She said the government was weighing up options around whether to include patron limits on venues as a whole, or per enclosed space.

Australian Medical Association ACT president Antonio Di Dio said the ACT was ready to ease restrictions further, and believed it could move at least in line with NSW during stage two.

"The number of cases in ACT is just nothing short of a magnificent outcome," he said.

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Opposition Leader Alistair Coe said the ACT was uniquely positioned to tailor the reopening of the local economy, instead of using a one size fits all approach.

"The key principle to unlocking the economy is social distancing and appropriate hygiene," he said.

• For information on COVID-19, please go to the ACT Health website or the federal Health Department's website.
• You can also call the Coronavirus Health Information Line on 1800 020 080
• If you have serious symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, call Triple Zero (000)

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