Editor’s Note: KFL&A Public Health has confirmed to Global News that following inspections on July 15, 2020 and July 17, 2020, Binh’s Nail Salon was in compliance with public health safety requirements. Binh’s has reopened with no concerns from public health inspectors.
After an outbreak was declared at a Kingston, Ont., nail salon this week, putting up to 500 customers at risk of contracting COVID-19, two other nail salons are now the focus of coronavirus-related issues.
According to a Facebook post from Kingdom Nails & Spa in Kingston, one of their employees tested positive for the virus Saturday.
“Although we have passed all regulations and did not violate and safety measures, we feel that it is our responsibility to ensure that this will not happen again. We will be closed until the Public Health department says that we can open,” the post from the nail salon read.
The post said that the employee who tested positive “rents” from Binh’s Nail Salon, which was the direct link to now 21 cases of COVID-19 in the city, including 6 found in employees of the salon. KFL&A Public Health noted five new cases linked to the salon over the weekend, with 16 as of Friday, but did not give an updated number for the region’s total cases.
Kingdom Nail & Spa believes this is how their employee caught the disease.
Binh’s Nail Salon was not fined, despite public health finding several deficiencies in their operations, including allowing some employees to come into work while they were symptomatic.
Dr. Kieran Moore, medical officer of health for the region, said the forceful closure of the business and the damage done to their reputation would be penalty enough for Binh’s, but that public health would go ahead with fining other businesses going forward.
On Sunday, public health posted the first of these fines — Beauty Nails Salon at 745 Gardiners Road. Public health said the salon was not discarding single-use instruments immediately after use.
In an interview earlier this week, Moore said fines would start at $700 a day for non-compliance.
No other businesses have been fined at this time, but Moore said public health would be actively inspecting high-risk businesses. It seems health inspectors have been targeting nail salons this weekend after the large outbreak at Binh’s.
“KFL&A Public Health continues to inspect local nail salons. If we find additional positive cases connected to nail salons, we will order all nail salons closed in the KFL&A region,” a spokesperson for the public health unit said.