A Manicurist Says Her Client Knowingly Exposed Her to COVID-19
Although nail salons are reopening nationwide, COVID-19 is still very much an ongoing pandemic. Different states require different precautions of their citizens — some have mask mandates, some don't — and depending on the phase they're in, businesses have different limitations on how they can operate. Regardless of phase, private businesses are free to enact their own stricter policies regarding whether or not they'll serve a customer based on if that person is taking what the business deems to be sufficient precautions.
In Washington, under the state's guidelines for personal service providers, that includes nail salons, clients "must self-screen for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 before arriving at the service provider location." Naturally, you might think that would mean if someone tested positive for COVID-19, they wouldn't knowingly make or keep an appointment with their manicurist within the recommended quarantine period.
But a nail technician named Taylor recently shared a since-removed Facebook post with a screenshot of a text-message conversation she says she had with a customer. In the screenshot, shared with Allure by Taylor, the client wrote, "I feel really bad and should not have shown up for my appointment but I desperately needed my nails done! I tested positive for the virus two days ago soooooo please quarantine yourself."
Taylor replied, reminding the client not only that she is immunocompromised, but that she would not have accepted her appointment if the client had revealed beforehand that they'd had any COVID-19 exposure. "I asked you before you even got here if you had been exposed to the virus and if you have had it at any point," she wrote.
The client, however, appeared to believe the condition of her nails justified exposing her unsuspecting manicurist to the highly contagious novel strain of coronavirus, offering more of an excuse than an apology. "I was just desperate to get out of the house! I was quarantine in two days I'm sorry! I needed my nails done sooooooo bad! You saw how bad they were!"
Taylor tells Allure that, fortunately, both she and the client were wearing masks (which doesn't excuse the client from reportedly knowingly exposing Taylor), and that since getting tested herself, she's been feeling pretty good. However, she is understandably disappointed over what happened.
"It was very distressing to receive those messages," Taylor tells Allure. "It is alarming to think there are people who don’t take other people’s safety seriously." She says that since posting the screenshots she's heard from other people in the beauty-service industry who've gone through similar incidents.
Taylor says, “This client has been reported to the proper authorities and I'm leaving it to them to help me handle this situation properly.” But in the meantime, she can't — and wouldn't — work.
"I am hoping after my two-week quarantine that I will be able to take clients back on," Taylor tells Allure. "My first concern is the safety of my clients, family members, and friends — first and foremost."
Let this serve as a reminder that no matter how bad you think your unmanicured nails make you look, knowingly exposing another person to COVID-19 makes you look way worse.
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Originally Appeared on Allure
