coronavirus

Newsom Announces Guidelines for Reopening Hair Salons, Barbershops

In California, the at-risk businesses have been shut down for weeks because of the pandemic

NBC Universal, Inc. Hair salon owners in the North Bay are sharpening their scissors and cleaning their combs now that Governor Newsom has cleared the way for them to reopen. Terry McSweeney found a Napa salon where excitement was high and business was booming.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued guidance for some counties to take the lead on reopening California barbershops and hair salons that were shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic.

Such establishments would be allowed to open with restrictions if and when public health officials make the call in those 47 counties Newsom designated. Nail salons were not included in the governor's new guidelines.

Those 47 counties have attested to meeting the readiness criteria more quickly than other parts of the state. In the Bay Area, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties were on the list. In Southern California, San Diego County was among those approved.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued guidance for some California counties to take the lead on reopening barbershops and hair salons that have been shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic. Damian Trujillo reports.

The guidelines would mark an upcoming launch to Phase 3 of Newsom's four-phase reopening plan for the state. But the timeline for that part of the plan hasn't been made clear.

Once Phase 3 guidance is provided, Bay Area public health officials may choose to fall in line with the governor's guidance or could opt to retain stricter rules, which would take precedence over the state's.

The state's COVID-19 website indicates California still is in Phase 2 of modifying the stay-at-home order issued May 8 that is set to expire Sunday, May 31. There were 66 more virus-related deaths in the state over the weekend and another 19 Monday, state data shows.

As of Tuesday morning, California had 96,733 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 3,814 deaths, according to state data.

On Friday, President Trump declared houses of worship "essential" and called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue guidelines for reopening such establishments. Newsom issued new guidance Monday for houses of worship across California.

He said guidelines for gyms will also be released soon.

During his news briefing Tuesday, Newsom was deadpan as he joked about how his kids did not practice social distancing or PPE guidelines while serving as his personal barber over the weekend. He said it was a "family effort" to get rid of what his wife called a mullet.

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