Official suggests some reopening

Barbershops, bars restaurants would face restrictions

TALLAHASSEE — Shaggy-haired Floridians waiting out the coronavirus pandemic and in need of a trim could be able to make their way back to their favorite barbershop or salon in the coming weeks.

Halsey Beshears, secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, suggested barbershops and salons could reopen — at least those in counties with relatively fewer confirmed cases — if strict guidelines are in place for sanitation of the businesses, employees and customers.

Speaking during a task force meeting convened by Gov. Ron DeSantis aimed at giving him recommendations for how to reopen the economy, Beshears stressed that many of the small businesses regulated by his agency won’t survive if the shelter-in-place orders persist for much longer.

But DeSantis later said he doesn’t have a set timeline for when to reopen the economy.

“I’m not concerned so much about specific dates as I’m concerned about getting it right,” DeSantis said during a press conference at the Capitol. “There’s no firm date where we’ve got to go to this phase or that phase.”

Greg Picinic, owner of the Livin’ in the Cut barbershop in Tallahassee, echoed those calls and also suggested the state help businesses like his obtain personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves, which even hospitals have struggled to get a hold of during the pandemic. The disinfectant Barbicide also needs to be available, he said.

“That is one of the most important tools that we have here in our barbershops, and we just want to make sure that that is available for us,” Picinic said.

Barbershops in the 59 counties with fewer than 500 confirmed coronavirus cases could reopen, Beshears suggested, with protocols in place. Those include making sure employees wash their hands thoroughly between clippings; the number of people in salons are limited; employees wear face masks; and face masks are given to customers and a full checklist of all sanitation efforts is posted in a conspicuous place to give customers confidence to patronize the shop.

Beshears also discussed ways to reopen bars and restaurants to allow for dine-in patrons again. He noted that 2,457 of them have closed their doors indefinitely.

“Sadly, many of them will not make it back from this pandemic,” Beshears said.

Yet relaxing coronavirus-caused restrictions on businesses in some parts of the state and not in others will carry its own issues.

DeSantis cited New York City’s stay-at-home order as having the unintended consequence of pushing residents there to second homes in Florida, helping lead to the widespread outbreak in South Florida. If businesses with close contact between people are allowed to reopen in some counties, it could spur a rush from nearby counties that remain locked down to newly opened businesses in the county next door.

Orange County, for instance, is one of the eight counties with more than 500 confirmed cases, but Seminole, Lake, Osceola, Brevard and Polk do not.

Still, Beshears said restaurants and bars could reopen if proprietors adhere to strict guidelines, with careful attention paid to food safety; repeated cleaning and sanitizing of the business; repeated hand-washing by employees; and also making hand sanitizer available to customers.

“If the business performs in a safe, clean and comforting environment while maintaining the health and safety of all of their employees, customers and patrons, these businesses will learn to operate in this new world,” Beshears said.

DeSantis had previously stated that he’d like to see recommendations from the task force by the end of the week, but members were told Friday to submit their own suggestions to his office, which would review and consider them over the weekend.

DeSantis is eyeing ways to kickstart Florida’s economy after much of it was shut down to slow the spread of COVID-19. He stated earlier this week that Florida has “flattened the curve” and businesses that can reopen in a safe way should be able to do so soon.