Time to get a haircut in most of California – but you’ll need a mask
Sacramento and most other California counties can begin reopening hair salons and barbershops, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
The new guidance will apply in the 47 California counties that have “self-attested” that they have adequate supplies and protocols to reopen more quickly than the rest of the state while still mitigating spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, Newsom said.
The guidelines posted on the state’s COVID-19 website direct hair salon employees and customers to wear face coverings. They also lay out other recommendations for temperature checks and sanitation.
Newsom said he made the decision to allow professional hairdressers to resume work because the state has made significant progress acquiring more masks and other protective equipment, ramping up its testing capacity and stabilizing hospitalization rates.
Barbershops and hair salons in El Dorado and Placer counties can reopen if they follow the governor’s new guidelines, representatives of those counties said.
Although Yolo County has also “self-attested” its readiness to reopen, county spokeswoman Jenny Tan said it doesn’t yet plan to allow professional haircuts. Its board of supervisors plans to meet “perhaps in the coming week” to discuss what to do with its shelterin-place order set to expire at the end of May, Tan said.
Sacramento health Chief Peter Beilenson says he will allow barber shops and hair salons in Sacramento County to open starting Wednesday.
Richie Telford, co-owner of Yellowbelly’s Barbership in midtown, was shocked, pleased – and miffed – when a Bee reporter told him he can reopen for the first time since March 19.
He said customers have been calling him every day about getting a haircut since mid-March. But he hasn’t seen or heard anything from health authorities.
“Wow,” he said. “I wish we’d known in advance, gotten a heads up. Now we have to get our ducks in a row. We have to get our bookings set up.”
Briana Burster, co-owner of Details Salon in East Sacramento, said she is more than ready to relaunch business Wednesday. She has spent more than $1,000 already on protective equipment, including masks for customers who don’t come in with their own. She has such a backlog of clients that she expects to work from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. six days a week at the start.
“That will allow me time to space out clients. I won’t double book,” she said. “I’ll take extra time for sanitation. I bought an overabundance of supplies, hair colors. There is that fear when everyone comes back there may be a shortage.”
Sacramento County, which has one of the lowest coronavirus infection rates among large counties in the country, has been pushing aggressively in the last week to reopen, giving restaurants, small stores and malls, including Arden Fair Mall, the go-ahead on Friday.
The county formally amended its coronavirus health order late Tuesday afternoon, reflecting updated guidance from the administration on hair salons, religious gatherings and retail stores, Sacramento County spokeswoman Janna Haynes said.
The Tuesday announcement on hair salons comes a day after the Newsom administration allowed all counties to reopen stores and places of worship with restrictions designed to slow the virus’ spread. Newsom says his administration will continue to announce guidance for additional businesses to reopen in the coming days and weeks. On Wednesday, Newsom says he’ll release new guidelines for summer camps.
Nail salons are still prohibited from operating, Newsom said, although guidelines for them to reopen are forthcoming.
Newsom says that he had his own hair cut a few days ago by his kids.
“It was family effort,” he said, “to remove what was described by my wife as a mullet.”
This story was originally published May 26, 2020 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Time to get a haircut in most of California – but you’ll need a mask."