California Gov. Gavin Newsom has permitted hair salons and barbershops to continue serving customers, provided they do so outdoors.
Newsom, a Democrat, required salons and barbershops to close in March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. They were permitted to reopen in May, but the governor shut them down again on July 13 as COVID-19 surged through the Golden State.
New daily cases have risen by a seven-day average of 8,208 in California during July. It was 3,938 in June.
The new guidance from Newsom says outdoor services are allowed if employees and customers wear masks. The services that are permitted to operate outdoors include skin care, cosmetology, nail services, and massage therapy. Services not yet permitted either indoors or outdoors include electrology, tattooing, and piercing services.
Critics claim that the governor sent conflicting messages last week regarding salons and barbershops, and at least one barber vowed to defy the new shutdown order. Newsom said today that was not his intent.
“It was our intention to provide for barbershops and the like to be able to do their work outdoors,” he said. “It turned out that was more challenging than it may have appeared.”
On Friday, Juan Desmarais, a barber in Vacaville, said that he would remain open. “We’re not gonna live in fear, and we’re gonna continue on,” he told Fox News. “We’re not gonna let this stop us.”
