Sudbury business owners brace for difficult lockdown

When Ugo Rocca closed his barber shop last year as the province went into a lockdown, he said he understood the need. And again, when a second lockdown was announced in December, he said he made no complaints.

"I said 'well, we've got to do what we got to do,'" Ugo said.

But when Sudbury went into the grey zone of the province's COVID-19 framework on Friday, Rocca said this time, he "was hurt."

"It's all the time the small business we have to lock[down]. All the other businesses they can have 20 people, 30 people. But all the small businesses look like we have to pay all the time. And I don't think this is fair," Rocca said.

Under the "lockdown" measures set out by the province, retailers are permitted to stay open, with capacity limited to 25 per cent. But a number of businesses, including barbers, salons and fitness centres, have to close their doors completely. After already enduring five months of lockdown during the pandemic, some business owners, like Rocca, are feeling frustrated.

'Here we go again'

Rocca, who has worked in Sudbury as a barber for 50 years, said he's felt safe serving his clients during the pandemic, because of the health measures he has in place.

"We can work one person at a time in the shop, with no waiting area," Rocca said. "We work safe."

John Hillier, co-owner of The Basement Fitness and Gym, shares a similar sentiment.

"We've put our measures in place as best as we can to try to keep our members safe and healthy and obviously the facility's never been cleaner and safer."

Hillier said news of the lockown was "disheartening," especially so soon after the gym had reopened following the last lockdown.

"[We were] kind of just getting some headway from this last you know reopening, I think we're 24 days in or whatever it was, and here we go again."

Hillier said it took some timeafter the other two lockdowns for members to slowly start returning to the gym something he expects will be the case again, when this lockdown is eventually lifted.

"The effect is far greater than what people might actually think of me just having my doors closed. It's also when I reopen them, the time that it takes to get members back," Hillier said.

While Hillier is bracing to be in lockdown "for a bit of the long haul," Rocca, at his barber shop, said he is feeling hopeful this time around.

"I've got five grandchildren, and what I teach them [is] you've got to think positive," Rocca said. "This time I'm thinking positive that in two weeks they're going to reopen this whole business like me and everybody else."