Mayor: Personal care will be essential
Region prepping for gradual restart of area businesses
Orange Mayor Jerry Demings said Friday he would seek to declare barbershops, hair salons and other personal care businesses as “essential” so that they could open sooner than allowed under Gov. Ron DeSantis’ plan to reopen the state’s economy.
The discussion occurred during a subcommittee meeting of the Orange County’s Economic Recovery Task Force, which featured an appearance by Halsey Beshears, secretary of the state Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
“I really do think there’s a way to get the hair salons and stylists back open again,” Demings said.
Beshears said Demings could ask Jared Moskowitz, who leads the state’s Division of Emergency Management, to approve salons and barbers as “essential” under one of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ executive orders, which allows local governments to expand essential services.
Beshears, a former legislator, said state rules on sanitation are already strict for barbers and salons and likely would help in cutting down on virus transmission.
Demings, also on the call, said he’d work with the county attorney to petition Moskowitz.
“I will work with the state coordinating officer,” Demings said.
By Friday evening, Demings had penned a letter to DeSantis urging sooner openings for barbers, hair stylists, nail technicians and others.
DeSantis announced this week that restaurants and other businesses will be allowed to reopen on Monday at a reduced capacity as part of his “Phase 1” plan for reigniting the state’s economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. But salons, barbers and other personal care businesses such as spas are left out of Phase 1 and DeSantis did not set out a clear timetable for those operations.
With so much uncertainty, stylists are taking health risks by doing at-home appointments, said Mike van den Abbeel, who owns Mosaic Hair Studio & Blowout Bar on Virginia Drive.
“I know they’re going out into the home,” he said. “For those who can’t take the financial burden ... we’re creating a scenario where we’re not helping our cause with the pandemic.”
Demings’ task force unanimously signed off on seven guidelines businesses should follow as they reopen. Those include social distancing, wearing face coverings, frequent hand washing and allowing high-risk people to work from home. It also recommends conducting temperature checks of all staff and send people home who register a temperature of 100 degrees or above.
Demings, who noted the county’s curfew between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. remains in effect at least until next week, said the county used a portion of the $243 million it received in federal CARES Act funding to purchase 1 million masks and 200,000 bottles of hand sanitizer to be distributed to small businesses.
None of the guidelines are mandates, said Chuck Whittall, a developer who is leading the group.
Whittall, whose developments include Icon Orlando on International Drive and the Trader Joe’s plaza in Winter Parks, pointed out Mother’s Day is a week from Sunday.
“I know there’s a lot of women who would like to go to dinner having their nails done and their hair done,” he said.
Many of the nearly two dozen people who sent comments to the task force pleaded for sooner reopenings of hair salons and barbershops.
The group also heard from John Arie, CEO of FunSpot, who hoped the group would let the I-Drive amusement park open during “Phase 1” of the governor’s plan. Most of the park’s attractions are outdoors, he said.
“We believe the residents of Orlando’s surrounding counties need a break from their homes,” Arie said.
Dave George, Chief Operating Officer of Darden Restaurants, said their eateries were planning to open Monday, a week after doing so in Georgia and Tennessee. Its staff members will have temperatures checked before shifts, wear masks at work and its restaurants will be deep cleaned each day. Also, Darden is encouraging reservations and for customers to practice social distancing and to wear masks.
Steve Jamieson, the General Manager at the Mall at Millenia, said the mall would be open for pick-up orders Monday for any stores willing to participate and hopes to open to the public with reduced hours May 11.
Beshears said restaurants can get creative to maximize seating under DeSantis’ plan to allow them to reopen Monday at 25% capacity indoors, and no restrictions on outdoor seating.
Beshears said his office wouldn’t take away liquor licenses of restaurants who put tables on sidewalks or in parking lots to expand outdoor seating, though he said businesses should check in with local officials before doing so. Demings said restaurants cannot decide on their own to set up dining areas outside their premises to serve food and beverages, and permits are still required to do so.
“Of course that creates a safety concern,” Demings said. “We still have an obligation to protect the public — even from themselves.”
Edgewood Mayor John Dowless said his city council met in a special session after the governor’s announcement to waive code restrictions and allow restaurants to set up tables outside their premises.
He said restaurants can’t earn enough money at only 25% capacity.
“We’re getting out of their way,” Dowless said. “It’s about jobs and paychecks.”
The city of 6,100 residents, located south of Orlando, has about 10 restaurants.
Beshears said the state’s health-and-safety guidelines are designed to keep people safe and he hoped restaurants and other small businesses could tread water a little longer.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to be incumbent upon the business owner to figure out what they need to do to make their patrons feel safe,” Beshears said.
Dr. Raul Pino, health officer for the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, said the region had cleared hurdles set by the White House to move into a phased reopening. The county reached its peak of COVID-19 cases requiring intensive care beds on April 11, with 68, he said, while today just 21 people need them.
“We have to open in a way that is gradual and will give us the ability to stop if we need to,” Pino said.