Renzo Downey
Gov. Ron DeSantis will allow barbershops and salons to reopen Monday in any county under Phase One reopening guidelines.
DeSantis also announced he was removing Palm Beach County from the three counties excluded from Phase One, leaving just Miami-Dade and Broward still under the original stay-at-home order and not subject to new reopenings. The three counties have long been the epicenter of Florida’s infections, but Palm Beach has been steadily declining compared to its South Florida neighbors.
DeSantis said he would also like to move Miami-Dade and Broward into phase one, possibly starting May 18, as they’ve also had “good trends” in efforts to control the virus.
“I think that there was a sense that they needed a little more time to be ready to reopen,” DeSantis said during an appearance at FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach. “And I think that that’s fine. We want them to do it in a way that it’s going to be successful. It’s going to be smart. It’ll be step by step. But we really want people to have confidence in what’s going on.”
The Governor tweeted the announcement Friday after teasing possible news during a press conference earlier in Jacksonville.
“We’re being very judicious on everything we’re doing, but I absolutely see a path, and I think if people watch out, I think that you’ll be hearing something on that very soon,” the Governor said during the news conference.
When the state began to reopen Monday as the fight against COVID-19 turned to the economy, DeSantis extended the ban on close-contact personal services. A week later he pulled the trigger for barbershops and salons.
“We considered this for Phase One,” DeSantis said in Jacksonville, “And my view is, OK, we need to talk with doctors, we need to talk with the industry, we need to figure out what would make sense to reduce risk.”
On the day his task force discussed ways to reopen barbershops, President Donald Trump, in a Twitter denial that he gave Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp the OK to open businesses in his state, listed salons and barbershops as businesses that shouldn’t open as readily.
“Spas, beauty salons, tattoo parlors, & barber shops should take a little slower path, but I told the Governor to do what is right for the great people of Georgia (& USA)!” Trump tweeted.
Although salons did not reopen Monday, DeSantis sat down with Orlando Mayor Jerry Demings and industry and health experts over the weekend at Demings’ request.
“They were all talking about ‘here’s what we would do,’ and I think the ideas were great, so those ideas have been taken, they’ve been internalized,” the Governor said Friday. “The Health [Department] has looked at them, other physicians have looked at them, so I think it’s going in a really good direction.”
Some of those suggestions included using masks and the cleaning expectations necessary to keep the close-contact industry sanitary.
“But my view is if you have somewhere there’s interaction, if you can do things like mask and other things that would make it low risk, then we’ve got to figure out a way to do that,” DeSantis said.
He didn’t give an indication of whether the reopening would come during Phase Two or if he might issue an in-between step. But the Twitter announcement, featuring John Henry of J Henry’s Barber Shop in Orlando, leaves no room for interpretation: Haircuts will be OK starting Monday.
“We are ready to get back to work and make some money,” Henry said in a video announcing the reopening. “But getting back to work, we want to be safe to continue to wear gloves, wear masks, bookmark appointments and continue to keep the community safe. I know everyone is happy to come out and support the barbershop, and we want to continue to keep one thing in mind, safety is always first.”
Henry was among a number of barbers and cosmetologists who sat down with DeSantis last Saturday to push for their professions to be included in the reopening. They highlighted advanced cleaning protocols for work stations and tools, along with in-store physical distancing requirements for customers.
Here’s a major announcement from my friend J Henry, owner of J Henry’s Barber Shop in downtown Orlando. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KnXFaMRVns
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 8, 2020
Content from the News Service of Florida was used in this report.
15 comments
jon
May 8, 2020 at 3:39 pm
Thank God my barber is a patriot, he never closed his doors. He told them to go to hell! Just had a haircut last week! Go to hell dictating bastards!
james
May 9, 2020 at 7:24 am
And if your wife, son, daughter has died from Covid, would you still be shooting off your mouth? Dictating bastards, really? If the Govt advised/ordered everyone into their homes because of a chemical leak or there was a terrorism threat and people were ordered to stay home, would the government still be a dictating bastard?
Or how about some guy, who had meningitis, malaria, measles, or any disease–and he was just walking around town infecting people–such as yourself, and what if people had no idea he was sick. What if he was causing loss of life due to his selfishness?
Still dictating bastards? Glad you got your haircut buddy; bet that was really important to you.
Phukhue
May 9, 2020 at 9:38 am
You are a low information moron.
Please do the rest of us a favor and continue to stay home hiding under your bed so the Covid boogieman doesn’t get you!
Idiot.
N
May 9, 2020 at 7:58 pm
Measles are rarely deadly actually.
Nate Greene
May 9, 2020 at 9:34 am
+10!
Joe
May 10, 2020 at 12:27 pm
My next store neighbor is sort of a rebel and I get it about your freedom but this women is now in the icu. It’s not about someone taking your freedom it’s about a unseen war
Robert brunnemann
May 8, 2020 at 9:00 pm
I am a 73 year old hairdresser in Florida with underlying conditions namely heart disease…. I was just told by my employer a franchise of Regis Corporation that if I didn’t come back to work I would not be able to collect unemployment… all states that have opened up including hairdressers the cases have been on the rise to what extent we don’t know yet…
I personally feel very uncomfortable going back to work…. but according to my boss’s it’s either work and take a chance with my life or go penniless
Nothing has changed in 6 weeks in Florida except the governor wants to open the State up no matter how many lives it cost
Mel
May 9, 2020 at 1:37 pm
I’m sorry to hear this for you… however I too have reservations about going back now and I dont have any underlying issues. But if you can prove to UI that you have underlying issues that would pose a danger to your health you most certainly can still collect. Look it up! promise you! Plus there aren’t even guidlines for us to adhere to!!! Good luck to you!
ROBERT BRUNNEMANN
May 9, 2020 at 5:06 pm
Thanks mel that was so helpful I really appreciate it good luck to you and your family stay safe stay healthy
Haley
May 9, 2020 at 7:42 am
But what about tattoo parlors? Will they reopen on Monday as well as the other close contact businesses?
Melinda Wheeler
May 9, 2020 at 8:17 am
That’s what he keeps leaving out. We need an answer!!
Suze Pra
May 10, 2020 at 6:58 pm
Tattoo parlors fall under the same FL business licensing as beauty salon, barbershops, etc. – Personal Care Services — so I would think all personal care services would open with the same cautious care requirements. After all, Tattoo artist deal with blood pathogens and the like day in and day out and wear protective gear and maintain cleanliness for both themselves and their clients without being ordered to do so.
Melinda Wheeler
May 10, 2020 at 7:08 pm
Unfortunately no.
Nate Greene
May 9, 2020 at 9:33 am
I’ve got to laugh when I see all these people donning their masks (many home made) and gloves. Who then proceed to open doors, handle merchandise, credit cards and cash. Then remove the mask with the same hands that just handled all that stuff. But they’re SAFE!! And so are you! Such nonsense. God forbid that as the facts on the ground change we relate that to our fellow citizens. No, let’s just continue to keep pushing the same fearful narrative. It’s irresponsible, irrational and immoral.
Claire
May 14, 2020 at 2:51 pm
Someone needs to champion Tattoo owners. Mayor Demmings made a big play for Hairdressers,Barbershops and other personal services. Desantis now wants to bring in Sports people from other states who make high dollar and throws Florida business owners under the bus who are desperate to get back to work. Tattoo shops are regulated and always have been by the strict rules of the health department. Desantis stop playing the fiddle for the big guys it’s not a good look.
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