A leading NC Republican wants barbershops, salons to reopen amid coronavirus threat

Senate leader Phil Berger is pushing for counties to be able to allow barbershops and salons to reopen.

In a press release Wednesday, Berger said 25 other states, including nearly every state in the Southeast, have allowed these businesses to operate, with three more states allowing reopenings in the coming days.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said at a news conference Wednesday that the plan is to move through activities in “a measured way,” starting with lower risks first.

Working on hair puts people at higher risk because customers are sitting and the activity involves close contact, she said.

“We still see a lot of virus here,” Cohen said. “We don’t want to see a surge of cases.”

North Carolina is in Phase One of reopening retail businesses, but barbershops, salons, and other personal services businesses must remain closed. Republican legislators and Council of State members have been critical of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plans to allow business activities to reboot, saying they are unclear and too slow.

“It’s time to follow the lead of the majority of states in our region and the country,” Berger said in a news release. “Hair salon owners and employees can’t work and many of them still can’t get unemployment assistance from the Cooper Administration. Gov. Cooper needs to provide counties with the flexibility to reopen hair salons and barber shops if they choose.”

Counties should allow salons and barbershops to reopen if they see customers by appointment, require employees and customers to wear masks, and take other safety measures, the news release said.

Cohen said she knows people want haircuts. “We are less than two weeks away from thinking about a move to Phase Two where we contemplate opening barbershops and salons,” she said.

Comparing restaurants to salons

Maggie Lewis, owner of The Lather Lounge Hair Studio in Durham, said she is eager to work and questioned why ABC stores were allowed to stay open and shoppers are able to crowd into retail store checkout lines.

“I’m not mad at the governor,” she said, but restaurants, another type of establishment with sit-down service, are still able to bring in money with take-out and delivery orders.

Lewis said she does not want to rush into a situation that is unsafe - she’s preparing to see clients again using masks and gloves - but she is also running low on money.

“I just feel like they put the cosmetologists on the back burner,” she said.

Lewis, who opened the salon 11 years ago, said she has been denied unemployment payments and said her application for a small business grant is still pending. She has been selling beauty products to make up for some of her lost income.

“It’s a time to test our faith,” she said. “I know God is going to get us out of it. I’m just ready to work.”

Anxious to hear state’s safety requirements

Marcia Martin, who with her husband Matthew owns The Grumpy Barbers in Apex, said they were eager to reopen and anxious to hear what safety measures the state will require.

“We have already started looking at what we might need to do based on what other states are doing,” she said.

They have ordered masks and a no-touch thermometer, and are looking at disposable capes, she said. The business was able to get a Paycheck Protection Program loan, she said, and would be ready to open in the first week of June.

The Martins are managing, she said, but “we have a man who rents a chair who is really struggling.”

This story was originally published May 13, 2020 at 1:47 PM with the headline "A leading NC Republican wants barbershops, salons to reopen amid coronavirus threat."