UPDATE (5:50 p.m.) - Santa Barbara County's Health Officer has issued an order that allows salons and barbershops to reopen as of 5 p.m. on Tuesday, May 26. The order also includes new guidance for places of worship and graduations. Click here to view the full order.
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UPDATE (4:50 p.m.) - San Luis Obispo County officials announced Tuesday afternoon that salons and barbershops can reopen as soon as businesses complete and sign the county's “Ready to Reopen” toolkit’s COVID-19 Self-Evaluation & Certification Form, found here.
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(12:53 p.m.) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom says barbershops and hair salons can reopen immediately in counties that have been cleared to move faster on lifting coronavirus restrictions.
The governor's announcement Tuesday is part of an ongoing relaxation of orders intended to help prevent spread of COVID-19.
The state's guidance says customers and workers in barbershops and salons must wear face coverings during hair-cutting and other close-contact services.
Forty-seven of California's 58 counties have been granted variances to state orders that allow them to move faster on reopening. Los Angeles County and San Francisco Bay Area counties are not among them.
San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties are included on the list of 47 counties that can move forward.
However, a Santa Barbara County spokesperson said businesses can not reopen until the current Health Officer Order is modified. That order is reportedly being revised and is expected to be reissued soon.
San Luis Obispo County is also expected to release more information about how businesses may proceed later Tuesday.
In expanding reopening to barbershops and hair salons, Newsom cited the extent of testing capability and stability in the rate of positive cases.
But after a long holiday weekend that saw many people out and about, the governor urged a sober recognition that the pandemic is not over and to continue measures such as social distancing and covering faces.
“We still have a long way of going to get where we need to be, which is immunity and a vaccine,” he said.
For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.