"I was just desperate to get out of the house!" said the client, who was supposed to be in quarantine, to the nail artist.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 14, 2020. It has since been updated.
The pandemic has shown that there are many people who are reckless and careless when it comes to the health of others. Many young people who are asymptomatic have been saying no to quarantining as well as to staying home, even when it can save other people's lives.
One manicurist from Washington recently had the worst experience after a client of hers refused to follow guidelines. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), "as a nail salon employee, you might come into contact with the virus that causes COVID-19 at your job."
The CDC explained that nail salon employees could get infected if they are "in close contact with clients or coworkers for more than 15 minutes at a time." Working on manicures, pedicures, and acrylic nails will place them in close contact with clients; touching or handling items, cash, or merchandise, and then touching their mouth, nose, or eyes will also put them at risk.
A woman is being dubbed selfish for ignoring restrictions after testing positive for the virus. The unnamed client was called out by a 26-year-old nail artist, Taylor Caravella, from Washington. Taylor is immunocompromised and had asked the client about her health status before she showed up. The client had tested positive only two days before showing up for her appointment, as per Daily Star.
She came clean only after returning home after the manicure, which shows how thoughtless and careless she had been about the health of all the people she was in close contact with when she stepped out.
Taylor had recently shared a since-removed Facebook post with a screenshot of a text-message conversation she says she had with a customer with Allure.
In the screenshot, 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 told the client that not only is she immunocompromised, but that she would not have accepted her appointment if the client had told her previously. "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. "You have known that I am immune compromised and legally wasn't supposed to take your appointment if you did," she said, as per Daily Mail.
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However, the insensitive client believed that the state of her nails was reason enough for her to expose Taylor to the highly contagious novel strain of the virus. She offered a lame excuse to the manicurist. "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!"
The nail artist said that both she and the client were wearing masks the entire time, which however doesn't excuse her not informing her. Since then, she got tested and has been feeling pretty good. She is disappointed about the actions of the now ex-client.
In Washington, to avail services by personal service providers, such as nail artists, clients need to "self-screen for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 before arriving at the service provider location."
The Facebook post was shared on the Instagram account The Shade Room and received thousands of comments. "Imagining risking someone's entire life for nails that'll last two weeks," one person wrote, according to Daily Mail. While another added, "I would be so upset. That is not okay. She is putting her business in jeopardy for her damn nails. Hell no!"
On Instagram, Taylor posted after her initial Facebook post went viral. "Yesterday after I posted about this on my Facebook, the world has been up in arms with me and for me. I just want to thank everyone for their support, and encouragement," she wrote. "I can’t believe how this literally has spread across this world like wild fire. Let’s protect ourselves and each other. If there is anything I have learned in the last 24 hours, there may be a handful of unthoughtful people like this ex client who did this to me yesterday, but this world is a beautiful place with a whole lot of people in it willing to do what’s right," she added.
References:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/organizations/nail-salon-employees.html
https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/desperate-woman-gets-nails-done-22494451
https://www.allure.com/story/nail-client-exposes-manicurist-to-covid-19-virus-washington
https://www.governor.wa.gov/sites/default/files/COVID19Phase2PersonalServicesGuidance.pdf
