EDMONTON -- Local business owners are bracing for the worst as the province enters a second lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19.
New public health restrictions come into effect on Sunday at midnight.
Non-essential services like salons will have to close their doors to clients.
Mark Buhler, owner of HQ salonspa in Sherwood Park, said the shutdown is not unexpected but still hard to take.
"It's pretty hard for Christmas to send 50 people home with unemployment but that’s the route that we are going," Buhler told CTV Morning Live Edmonton. "Unfortunately, come Saturday night at midnight they are going to be unemployed for four weeks."
The salon will continue to offer curbside pickup on retail products and will be selling gift cards.
Restaurants like New Asian Village in Sherwood Park will have to close to in-person dining but can offer take-out, curbside pickup and delivery.
But owner Monika Lavelle is worried her business won't survive another lockdown.
"We want to keep our family, friends, customers safe but it's financially devastating to our business," she said. "If things don’t change in the next little while, I don’t know what the fate of this restaurant is."
The province has committed to increasing the Small and Medium Enterprise Grant from $5,000 to $20,000 to help relieve some of the stress of the closures.
The restrictions are expected to impact 30,000 Alberta businesses and will be in place for at least four weeks.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Nahreman Issa.
