CALIFORNIA—The state of California is allowing barbershops and hair salons in most California counties to reopen to customers again.
While California Governor Gavin Newsom has let much of the state open up barbershops and hair salons, the only Bay Area counties that can open up those services immediately are Solano, Sonoma and Napa.
The rest of the Bay Area, including San Francisco, is set to open again soon, but must meet a series of milestones first as a pre-requisite. Such milestones include a steadily declining number of coronavirus hospitalization plus increased testing and tracking for people who have been potentially exposed.
These are the same requirements that allow the reopening of dine-in service at restaurants, and in-store shopping at retail locations. The state of California reported that out of the 58 total counties, 47 have received the green-light to open. It is unclear when the other counties of the Bay Area will follow suit, but it is expected to transpire soon.
During a news conference on Tuesday, May 26, Governor Newsom stated that the next phase will involve transferring “more accountability, more responsibility, and more flexibility to local leaders” to guide the reopening of their counties.
“It’s the combination of all of those factors coming together and beginning to paint a different picture in terms of our capacity to deliver what we’re promoting, but also respond as it related to the unknown.”
For barbershops that are opening across California, and some parts of the Bay Area, there are still strict guidelines in place. Some of these guidelines released by the government include:
- Both employees and customers are required to wear face masks for the duration
- Walk-ins must be discontinued, and customers can only be accepted by appointments
- Workers and customers should be screened for symptoms before entering
- Services that involve contact with the face, such as eyelash services, eyebrow waxing, facials, etc. are suspended until further notice.
- Salons must create a contact-tracing plan in case a worker or customer is infected.
- Tools and commonly used surfaces must be frequently disinfected
- Chairs must be spaced-out to maintain social distancing
Newsom indicated that nail salons and other close-contact services are not yet permitted to reopen.
“All of these numbers are part of those indicators that have to turn yellow to green so we can continue to march forward and indeed, they are turning yellow to green and we are marching forward as it relates to these modification to the stay-at-home order,” said Newsom.
