07/21/2020
Hello, my dear clients! How I have missed you! I hope you and your family are happy and healthy. My family and I are well.
My massage practice is closed indefinitely during the time of COVID-19.
I care for each of you, AND we are a risk to each other. I cannot keep you safe during a massage session.
A long list of reasons why massage is not currently safe:
*The factors of COVID-19 transmission risk are TIME and CLOSENESS. More than 30 minutes in an enclosed space = extreme exposure, according to the CDC. And physical distancing is, of course, not possible during massage.
*30-45% of COVID cases are asymptomatic. In other words, you or I may be sick or have been sick and be transmitting the virus, WITHOUT KNOWING.
*COVID tests have up to 30% false negatives.
*We don’t know how long people are contagious after recovery. And, survivors can be reinfected.
*Required Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to mitigate risk is still in short supply. Hospital workers still do not have enough, and massage therapists should not be using their supply.
*COVID patients, with or without symptoms (meaning, any of us), actively infected or recovered, can have systemic blood clotting. Massage can, rarely, release an existing blood clot causing a stroke or embolism.
*Liability coverage will not protect me if someone contracts COVID-19 through me. A signed waiver provides no additional protection.
*On a scale of 1-10, Massage Therapy is a 7 (Moderate-High Risk) activity, according to the Texas Medical Association. Massage Therapists rate a 52.8 on a 100-point scale of occupational risk, according to VisualCapitalist.com. That’s a higher risk than cashiers, bus drivers, and teachers.
I wish things were different. I miss working with you deeply. I am spending a lot of time educating myself on the science of COVID-19 and ways to make massage safer, and look forward to being able to open my practice again in the future. The work we do together is something I cherish.
I am here for you if you’d like to connect. I have stopped working for now, but I haven’t stopped caring about you!
Take good care of your wonderful, deserving self.
Warmly,
Virginia
P.S. I am happy to refund all gift certificates and unused sessions from packages you have purchased. Just have the package/gift certificate purchaser contact me and we’ll make it happen right away.