INDIANAPOLIS — Some businesses that were hit hard by the pandemic are paying close attention to the latest news about the omicron variant of COVID-19.
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced omicron now makes up a majority of cases in the U.S.
While symptoms appear mild, akin to the common cold, more research is still being done. What is known is that it's incredibly infectious.
Alyssa Riley, co-owner of Fox and Pearl Salon in Fountain Square, says her salon is already adapting to the situation.
"We've now started to require all of our staff to wear masks again," Riley said. "If our clients are fully vaccinated, we're kind of letting them choose their own adventure but as the new variant comes forward, we're probably going to require clients to wear masks again."
Riley doesn't believe they'll get much pushback from their clients because of how things went the last time they required masks.
"We had really good results with not having any spread of COVID throughout the situation with everyone being open and receptive to masking," she said.
Like many salons, Fox and Pearl was closed for two-and-a-half months during the early stages of the pandemic. Since reopening, Riley said they have thrived despite having to change the way they do business.
"We've recovered really well. We've been extremely busy. We've done nothing but grow since we were able to come back," Riley said.
They'll continue adapting to keep Fox and Pearl Salon open.
"We're going to just keep on keeping ourselves and our clients safe and go from there," Riley said.
