Hairdressers and barbers are now expected to reopen in Ireland a phase earlier than planned, it has emerged.
The reopening of hair salons is currently earmarked for phase four of the Government's reopening roadmap on July 20.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on Wednesday said they may be able to open sooner than the current planned date and Ireland could be "almost fully open" by the middle of next month.
And a decision to speed up the reopening of hairdressers and allow them open on June 29 is now being worked on, the Irish Times reports.
The National Public Health Emergency Team is expected to review the proposed plan over the next couple of weeks.
The Irish Hairdressers Federation on Sunday issued a statement calling on the Government to include the reopening of hairdressers and barber shops in phase three.
IHF President Danielle Kennedy said: "Our guidelines go above and beyond the Government’s advice on what to do, and will enable hairdressers and barber shops to reopen safely in Phase 3 rather than Phase 4.
"We have spent the past six weeks working with experts, the HSA, and all parties in the hair and beauty sector to develop these guidelines.
"We have taken the advice of health & safety experts, microbiology experts the HSE, the HSA and the WHO in preparing the document."
Danielle added: "This is an extremely safe and cautious set of guidelines. There are in-depth procedures on staff training, sanitisation, hand hygiene, social distancing, screening of clients and use of PPE.
"There are 25,000 people employed in our sector and we want to ensure they can come back to work safely.
"If we wait any longer to reopen, hundreds of small businesses will go bust and thousands of people will lose their jobs."
NPHET will meet today, Thursday, to review guidance on face masks and discuss the country's ongoing response to the pandemic.
Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer, Department of Health, said: “The National Public Health Emergency Team will meet again tomorrow (Thursday 11 June) to review Ireland’s ongoing response and preparedness to COVID-19.
"NPHET will also review updated World Health Organization guidance on face coverings and consider communications regarding appropriate use of face coverings in community settings.”
