One of the most amazing things about Mother Nature is that she can be beautifully and also terrifyingly unpredictable whilst, conversely, being absolutely predictable in certain biological arenas. Regrettably, when it comes to viruses and pathogens, it appears predictability is a sure thing.
Back in the spring when most of Europe was in lockdown, attempting to break the transmission levels of the coronavirus COVID-19, epidemiologists and other academic virologists predicted that come autumn and winter, we would inevitably see a resurgence of the COVID-19 disease. As I write, this prediction has become a reality as we have seen an increasing number of countries within Europe, including Germany, France and much of the UK taken back into lockdown.
The incredible challenges for governments, scientific, health and economic advisors cannot be underestimated. A career in politics was certainly not a path I ever considered and I sometimes wonder how many of our very senior politicians now perhaps wish they had taken alternative career paths. I simply cannot imagine what it must be like to be walking in their shoes during these unprecedented times. I believe that advisors advise, leaders decide and only time will tell what the full impact of these lockdowns will have on our businesses, our economies and of course the health and wellbeing of our nations.
It is truly exciting to be at the heart of the green shoots progress of a potentially new additional branch of our industry’s evolution.
Tanning salons throughout the UK have been part of the various local governments’ COVID-19 transmission-tracking service and so it is, of course, particularly reassuring and with pride that we can see that the pre-existing and enhanced hygiene and social distancing efforts of the salon owners and staff are definitely achieving “their bit” to help minimise transmission levels. It is clear from the available data that our sector is an extremely low/not a risk factor for COVID-19 transmission.
There’s equally no doubt that our sector plays a significant role in the wellbeing of our customers and it is in this domain that the potential exists to extend this benefit to a wider audience than is perhaps our traditional customer base. Exploratory meetings and discussions addressing this are already underway and the early outcomes are extremely encouraging.
I believe that whatever becomes our new “norm” as we traverse this pandemic, we will see our industry evolve, in part at least, into perhaps more of a wellness salon environment with UV light therapy at its core. After all, we know there are so many more benefits to responsible UV exposure than just cosmetic tanning.
These benefits have never truly had the opportunity to platform themselves as they do now. There is a plethora of scientific data showing the link between COVID-19 and vitamin D insufficiency and, as a result, there will surely be countless forward thinking scientific and medical experts around the globe who, as advocates of responsible UV exposure for a whole host of reasons, will see now is the time for public health authorities to connect the dots between the role of regular and responsible UV exposure and optimum health.
These are indeed very strange and very challenging times. But it is equally truly exciting to be at the heart of the green shoots progress of a potentially new additional branch of our industry’s evolution. This may very well be the time for everyone to actively get on board with the science behind the undeniable fact that we love to tan!
