Want to get your hair done in Sacramento County? Health officials OK indoor work again
Sacramento County health officials once again gave the green light on Monday for hair salons and barbers to reopen their doors for indoor hair cutting and styling — hoping this time will work out better than last.
The new rules include reopening shopping malls as well, but only at 25% of capacity.
County officials say they are following coronavirus reopening guidelines Gov. Gavin Newsom issued Friday, in which he agreed to allow hair cutters to get back to work inside their salons.
It marks the second time in three months that California and Sacramento County have said OK to indoor hair cutting after coronavirus-related bans initially went into effect in late March.
The first reopening, in late May, amid other business reopenings, led to a dramatic surge in the number of COVID-19 infections in the state and in the county, forcing the governor and county health officials to reverse course and shut them down again in most counties in mid-July.
Newsom on Friday pointed to a month-long downturn in new COVID-19 cases when announcing his new plans to reopen the economy, this time more slowly, and with more education while warning people about the importance of wearing masks and social distancing.
Some affected counties, such as Yolo, immediately announced they would follow suit Friday, allowing hair salons to reopen immediately.
Health officials in Sacramento County, where COVID-19 rates have been higher than California’s average for several months, took the weekend to decide whether to allow hair salons to reopen here. Under state rules, more stringent local county COVID-19 orders supersede the governor’s orders.
Sacramento County Health chief Dr. Peter Beilenson on Monday said he is pleased with a notable drop in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county over the past month and added he hopes that is an indication the county is bending the curve of increased serious cases.
He feels reopening hair salons and barbers now is “reasonable,” but only if employees and clients wear masks during the cutting, except for beard trimmings.
“The state is trying to be more surgical in what is open and not,” Beilenson said.
By opening businesses more incrementally, with three-week waits before new openings are allowed, the state and county can keep a better handle on which openings may be problematic, he said.
“I think by limiting everything else, process of elimination, you can figure out what is the issue if there is one,” Beilenson said.
The governor’s new guidelines do not allow nail salons to reopen yet for indoor servicing. Also not allowed indoors yet: Movie theaters, gyms, fitness centers, restaurants, bars, wineries, indoor museums and cardrooms.
However, the state’s guidelines will allow some counties, including El Dorado County locally, to reopen 25% of the capacity indoors in restaurants to diners. In recent months statewide, all restaurants have been required to serve any on-site diners outdoors.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 3:11 PM.