Salons continue to battle possible exposure to COVID-19
COLUMBIA Mo. (KMIZ)
As personal care services in Columbia continue to reopen and serve clients in close contact, more cases are beginning to pop up at businesses like salons.
Two hairstylists who work for a salon in Columbia recently tested positive for COVID-19.
Both employees work for The Clip Joint. The salon released information on the cases via Facebook.
The current Columbia/Boone County Health order says all businesses providing personal care services are allowed to reopen but shall maintain social distancing requirements to the extent possible.
The order also asks businesses to require employees to wear a mask or face or cloth face covering while providing services for which physical distancing is not possible. Customers are also asked, to the extent possible while receiving the service, to wear a mask or cloth face covering.
Jessica Rose Bruce who works for Varsity Nails and Varsity Clips which opened on May 4th, says she feels for everyone in the industry right now.
"All the transitions have been really smooth and we're just happy to be getting back to some kind of normal whatever that means right now," Bruce said. "There have been a few instances where clients may not completely understand why they're required to wear a mask and we've just explained it is city ordinance and if we want to be open these are the things that we do to keep our clients safe and our staff safe."
On May 22, the city of Springfield, MO announced 91 people may have been exposed at a Great Clips after a stylist worked for eight days while showing symptoms.
Bruce says she thinks the local measures are appropriate.
"I think the measures that the cities put in place for businesses are very smart," Bruce said. "I think phase one went really well I'm glad we're into phase two now so, for the most part, everything has been really smooth though and people have been incredibly understanding and supportive of everything that we've had to comply with to be open."
The local health order also asks businesses to perform these services with twenty-five (25) or fewer people in a single location or a maximum of fifty percent (50%) occupancy for the location, whichever is less, including both employees and customers in the calculation.
Bruce voiced support for the hairstylists who tested positive.
"Our hearts go out to them because at the end of the day we're all in the same industry and we're all doing the best that we can but at the same time we're all vulnerable," Bruce said. "This is a very new situation for everybody and we're all doing the best that we can and we're just hoping that their staff and their clients are healthy and that the two stylists that have gotten it recover quickly and that they can get back to business soon."
We reached out to The Clip Joint for comment but they have yet to get back.
