How can Fresno barbers, salons open again under California’s new COVID-19 rules?
Hair salons and barbershops, which for the past several weeks have only been allowed to operate outdoors in Fresno County and surrounding central San Joaquin Valley counties on California’s COVID-19 “watch list,” will be allowed to reopen indoors again on Monday under a new color-coded set of risk tiers unveiled Friday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Under the “Blueprint for a Safer Economy,” Valley counties will continue to face some of the most stringent coronavirus business restrictions in the state, at least for now. The new tiers include revised criteria for when different business sectors can reopen in individual counties, as well as the conditions under which particular businesses can operate.
Nail salons in Fresno County, for example, will still only be able to operate outdoors; bars and taverns that don’t sell food will remain closed, and restaurants will still not be able to offer dine-in service.
Fresno, Kings, Madera, Merced and Tulare counties, which have been on a state “monitoring list” that is being phased out, are among 38 California counties that fall under the purple tier, called “Tier 1,” that denotes areas that experience more than seven new COVID-19 cases daily per 100,000 residents and more than 8% of residents tested having results come back positive for the infection.
In Fresno County, the current case rate is 16.1 new cases daily per 100,000 residents, more than double the state’s criteria for Tier 1, and the testing positivity rate is 11%, also well above the 8% threshold.
Newsom, announcing the new tier system, noted that about 87% of the state’s residents reside in counties in purple Tier 1.
The other tiers are:
- Tier 2, red, for counties with substantial spread of the virus.
- Tier 3, orange, for counties with moderate spread.
- Tier 4, yellow, for counties with minimal spread.
Newsom noted that there is no “green” tier because a complete return to pre-pandemic conditions is not foreseen at this point.
For Fresno County and other counties starting in purple Tier 1, it means that many businesses deemed non-essential businesses will remain closed. But the tier also allows for some businesses to be open, or to reopen.
Newsom: ‘Sort of a reset’
In his remarks, Newsom said the new tiers represent “sort of a reset” and a “stringent and slow movement into new tiers” for counties. For a county like Fresno to move from purple Tier 1 into red Tier 2, for example, the county would need to have already met the criteria for the new level for two consecutive weeks.
The county would then remain in Tier 2 for at least three weeks, and would have to satisfy the requirements of Tier 3 for two weeks before being promoted to the new level.
Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the state’s Health and Human Services Agency, added that individual counties may adopt more stringent restrictions on businesses if they choose, but that counties cannot have requirements that are more relaxed than those imposed by the state.
Health officials in Fresno County said Friday that they will be satisfied with the state’s criteria and regulations under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. The Fresno County Department of Public Health “will not impose more stringent requirements and will utilize CDPH’s minimum restriction for industry guidance,” said Simranjit Dhillon, a spokesman for the county health department.
While the pace of new cases reported daily and testing positivity rates are highlighted in the new criteria, Ghaly and Newsom said that data that’s been closely watched under the state’s monitoring list, including hospitalization rates and capacity of hospital intensive-care units in each county, will also be a factor in deciding whether to allow a county to move from one tier to another. If hospitalizations and ICU rates take a turn for the worst, Ghaly said, it could trigger a reversal to a more stringent tier.
Shopping malls, too
In addition to hair salons and barbers shops, other businesses that have been closed will also be allowed to reopen on Monday with modifications, including retail shopping malls at 25% capacity.
Among the businesses that are ordered to remain closed in Fresno County under purple Tier 1 are bars, breweries, pubs and distilleries where meals are not served; concert venues; convention centers; electrologists; festivals; live theaters; nightclubs; piercing shops and tattoo parlors; saunas and steam rooms; and theme parks.
Sectors that can open, but only for outdoor operations, include aquariums, museums and zoos; body waxing studios and estheticians; cardrooms; cultural ceremonies; drive-in theaters and movie theaters; family entertainment centers including kart racing, miniature golf or batting cages; gyms and fitness centers; massage therapy studios; churches and other places of worship; racetracks and satellite wagering sites; wineries; and yoga studios.
Schools in purple Tier 1 counties remain restricted only to online instruction, as are colleges. Under the tier system, schools and colleges can reopen after their county has been promoted to the red Tier 2, and then only after the county has been in the less restrictive tier for at least two weeks.
This story was originally published August 28, 2020 at 1:58 PM.
