Beauty salons and nail bars across the borough are welcoming back clients after almost four months of closure.

Harrogate’s independent beauty salons may not be able to offer all treatments, but they are expecting to be busy.

Many things have changed since salons shut in March, so what does it look like now?

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to salons across the district as they open their doors to the public.

Paintbox nail and beauty boutique, Harrogate

The Harrogate Nail Bar, based in the centre of the town told the Stray Ferret that bookings are “flying” in.

” We are very busy… People are walking in but we are fully booked as we are not allowed to have as many people in as usual. It feels very different, especially getting used to the PPE but it’s great to see my clients again and to make them feel better!”

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Masks, Visors and perspex screens are some of the things you can expect to see in salons. There will also be less people allowed in at one time and increased cleaning will take place.

Gone are the days of a cup of tea whilst having your nails done, as food and drink other than water are likely to be banned.

Debra owns Paintbox nails and beauty she told us that they have been “ready to open for several weeks.”

” We were ready to open on the 4th July… I think the government finally realised that these companies were ready. We aren’t able to do any treatments to the face at all. This includes lashes, waxing, facials but we can do manicures, pedicures, waxing below the neck and massages. We are fully booked today, tomorrow and Saturday with a couple of space in between. Some people are just desperate to get back to looking after themselves and are ready for some kind of normal.”

As directly in front of the face has been deemed the highest risk zone by the Government, face waxing, sugaring, eyebrow and eyelash treatments, facials and make-up application will not be allowed until advice changes.

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any new coronavirus deaths for the last six days.

The last time the hospital recorded a death was on July 7. That came after more than two weeks without any deaths.

It means that Harrogate District Hospital remains on 81 deaths and 139 patient discharges after treatment for coronavirus.

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• A Harrogate woman’s account of coronavirus four months on
• How many coronavirus deaths Harrogate care homes have recorded

England’s hospitals reported that a further 11 people had died with coronavirus in today’s NHS figures.

Patients were aged between 72 and 95 years old. All patients had known underlying health conditions.

Almost 4 months after overcoming coronavirus, Vicky Snook from Harrogate (pictured right) says she still has days where she feels “completely wiped out.”

” Still now I have days where I can barely do anything at all and for a time I felt quite breathless at times… I would just have to go and have a lie-down, which is not like me at all. I have also been losing my hair, which has happened to one of my friends that had it too.  I lost a stone at the time… I have got that back but not my energy, unfortunately. I’m normally a very active person but It’s just the ongoing symptoms that are bizarre, but slowly the bad days are now getting less.

Vicky went to Cheltenham races in March and 4 days after she started to display symptoms of coronavirus:

“I was never admitted to hospital at the time, and actually I have had flu much worse.. If someone asked how ill i was at the time i would say a 2/10. I was just really exhausted and had a splitting headache. I was in bed for 8 days initially  then I started to feel a lot better and I thought I’d got off quite lightly, but the after-effects have been awful.”

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While the vast majority of those who contract Covid-19 will make a full recovery, there is increasing concern about a small but significant number of patients whose symptoms persist weeks and even months after first falling ill.

The NHS has now launched a tool to aid long term recovery.

“Your COVID Recovery” will be an online portal for people in England to access tutorials, contact healthcare workers and track their progress. The project will be rolled out in two phases, with the web portal launching later this month. It will only be accessible via a personal log-in and will be available to virus patients who had to be treated in hospital, as well as to those who managed their illness at home.

Later in the summer, tailored rehabilitation will also be offered to those who qualify, following an assessment.

Police say a woman from Harrogate who was reported missing yesterday has been found.

Monica Webber, aged 66, was last seen in the Dragon Parade area of Harrogate. North Yorkshire Police says Ms Webber has since been found safe in Berwick.

Police thanked those who helped in the public appeal.

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Beauty salons, tattooists and tanning salons now have the green light to reopen from Monday 13 July but some types of beauty work are still banned.

Treatments that involve work directly in front of the face such as facial waxing, eyelashes, make-up application and facial treatments are not allowed due to the much greater risk of transmission.

The Stray Ferret has been speaking to some local beauty businesses who still won’t be able to re-open on Monday.

Anna Jones, Owner of Harrogate Electrolysis

Anna Jones who is the proprietor of Harrogate electrolysis said she feels “very hard done too.”

“I specialise in permanent hair removal and 95% of my work is facial so there’s just no way I can re-open. I felt totally deflated yesterday and  I think it’s very unfair, as medical procedures such as facial aesthetic work can resume as they deem that as a ‘sterile and clinical environment’ but what I do is no different. I have always worn PPE and I work in a totally hygenic way but yet I am still in the beauty bracket rather than medical… I just feel left in the lurch.

“I’m hoping that by august we will get open, but to totally rule out facial treatments is just ridiculous. If they actually knew the figures, the bread and butter of the industry is facial- more needs to be done to help the beauty industry.”

Charlotte Wilson, Owner of CW Artistry

Charlotte Wilson who owns CW Artistry in Harrogate also feels ‘furious and upset’ by the restrictions.

“I am a makeup artist and lash technician so 100% of my work is facial… I feel annoyed as people are able to get on a flight and go to a pub, yet I can’t open even though I have a medical level of PPE and know it’s a safe environment. I initially thought I would be able to open at the same time as hairdressers so I had provisionally booked my clients in and I had a full diary for three weeks, but then when beauty was given the green light and i still can’t open its pretty devastating.”

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Charlotte who is 25 started her beauty business in January 2019:

“Financially its been terrible. I have had no help as I’ve not been self-employed long enough and I still live with my parents.  I am hoping my clients will come back, but I can’t see the makeup side of my business being very busy as a lot of my work is weddings and there just isn’t any going ahead and also people aren’t going out to events every weekend so they have no reason to get party makeup.”

Harrogate District Hospital has not reported any coronavirus deaths in today’s NHS figures.

It comes as the hospital records three more patient recoveries. That takes the hospital up to 139 discharges and 81 deaths.

The hospital had not reported any deaths for 16 days before the latest death on July 3.

Meanwhile, a further 22 people who tested positive for COVID-19 have died in England’s hospitals.

Read more

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• Council Leader: Some Harrogate businesses will not survive
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Of that number, two were recorded in the North East and Yorkshire.

NHS England said patients were aged between 53 and 94 years old. One patient, aged 77 years old, had no known underlying health conditions.

It means the national total number of deaths in hospitals has increased to 28,991.

Whilst face masks are only compulsory in Hospitals and on public transport, many companies around the borough are asking staff to wear them, as they start to re-open in a COVID-secure way.

Face Mask Supply, a local company which is made up of 50 sewers, has provided 7,500 masks in a month.

£1 of each sale goes to Harrogate Hospital, with the aim of raising around £5000.

Read more on this story:

• Charity shops reopen across the district 
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Cal Macpherson started the company, he told the Stray Ferret that the local spirit has been amazing:

“The story started when my grandparents felt uncomfortable leaving their house without suitable protection and couldn’t get hold of a great quality face covering. I got in touch with a local sewer who agreed to make a couple of masks for each of them, and included a third layer filter pocket to add a little more protection and to put their minds at ease!

They are now also offering personalised masks, allowing businesses or residents to get there logo or name written on the front. Cal said that this is an “effective and stylish solution for current times.”

The team are continuing to expand at a time when life starts to resume to a ‘new normal.’

A ‘green’ car club has launched in Harrogate where you can hire low-emission vehicles by the hour.

Motorists sign up to a membership and can then book the cars online with as little as 30 minutes notice.

The scheme is backed by Harrogate Borough Council and the first ten hybrid cars are parked around Harrogate at HBC’s on-street parking spots including Montpellier, Commercial Street and Franklin Road.

The hourly rate for a hybrid Toyota Yaris is £5.50 an hour and the daily rate is £38.50.

Durham-based social enterprise Co-Wheels runs similar car clubs around the country. Rebecca Townend from Co-Wheels told the Stray Ferret that she hopes Harrogate’s environmentally-minded public will get on board.

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Co-Wheels has a special introductory offer for people in Harrogate available on its website.

She said:

“It’s the first car club there’s ever been in Harrogate so it’s about educating people so they can give it a go.”

Hybrid cars combine petrol or diesel engine with an electric motor. Electric power can be activated in urban areas to reduce air pollution.

Ms Townend said they hope to introduce fully electric models at some point in the future.

According to the Department for Transport, Harrogate currently has 42 public electric vehicle charging points, which is above the national average.

A Costa drive-thru will open next month near Pannal after coronavirus delayed construction works.

The coffee company has not yet pinned down a specific date but will open the Leeds Road drive-thru in August.

It’s the first time Costa has announced an opening date with much of the external works already complete.

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Harrogate Borough Council approved the demolition of a petrol station and shops for the development despite concerns over traffic.

A Costa Coffee spokesperson, told The Stray Ferret:

“We’re delighted to be safely opening new stores across our estate, aswell as reopening existing stores in line with government guidelines – returning the Nation’s Favourite to customers by serving them a perfectly handcrafted cup of coffee.”

Diners will be able to get 50% off their bill from Mondays to Wednesdays at certain restaurants during August, but how do people in Harrogate feel about this?

This comes as the government announced its new scheme “Eat Out To Help Out” earlier today. The scheme aims to encourage more people to eat out at restaurants as lockdown measurers ease.

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The Stray Ferret asked the general public in Harrogate whether they will be running out to get their discounted meal.

There was a mix of emotion with some people more inclined to go out and others not.