By Jamie Salter
Berwick’s New York Barbers is providing its staff members with rapid antigen tests to ensure its doors remain open throughout 2022.
Owner Mario Fallachi started providing the tests to his 18 workers as soon as Victoria’s last lockdown ended in October 2021.
He said the decision paid off straight away when a staff member tested positive with Covid-19.
“When we got a positive rapid test back, that person could have shut down two shops if we hadn’t have known, and shutting down now would have been extremely detrimental,“ Mr Fallachi said.
Staff arrive at work 15 minutes earlier to be tested before their first shift of the week and are tested once again towards the end of the week.
As the business services about 650 people per week, Mr Fallachi said providing the rapid antigen tests was a cheap insurance policy.
“It’s good for the families because they know my staff are coming home from work safe,“ he said.
“It’s also for the clients’ security so they know the staff who are working on them are Covid-19 free and we’ve had great feedback from clients who are amazed we’ve gone to these lengths.
“We can’t be operating our businesses in an unsafe manner because that’s not fair for the community and it’s not going to put a stop to this pandemic.“
New York Barbers hairdresser Mariah Fallace said staff members adjusted quickly to the change.
“It made me feel lot safer to be at work knowing I was negative and wasn’t going to infect anyone else if I was,“ she said.
“If we had someone who tested positive, we could then send them home instead of having them infect our clients.“
Mr Fallachi receives the rapid antigen tests from provider Stonestar Wholesale.
He said he will continue to provide staff with rapid tests for the foreseeable future and encouraged other business owners to do the same.
