‘It’s been pretty hard.’ Merced County hair salons, barbershops reopen for indoor business
The day after the new statewide plan to reopen California’s economy under strict, measured stages, some businesses around Merced County are stretching their legs.
Under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recently announced reopening system, counties are divided into four risk tiers based on their local COVID-19 data.
As of Tuesday, Merced County is in the most limited reopening tier, meaning most of its nonessential business must remain closed.
But hair salons and barbershops across the state can reopen for business indoors, regardless of local COVID-19 demographics. Prior to the newest rules, these businesses were were only permitted to resume services outside in much of the state.
Ivan Duran, a barber and manager at The Cut & Shave Company in downtown Merced, spoke with the Sun-Star about opening his doors again for haircuts and shaves inside.
“It’s been pretty hard with the shop being closed,” Duran said. “(We’ve been) losing a lot of our clients, mainly because a lot of the people don’t know if we’re open, if we’re cutting hair. And once we’re open, still they’re confused.”
While Duran said he’s feeling optimistic about the state’s shift in rules, business is still hard. Bills and rent must be paid, while also taking care of his family, he noted.
The shop is taking every precaution to ensure patron safety during the pandemic, Duran said, including mandatory mask wearing and frequent sanitation of spaces.
“They’re happy that we’re open as well,” Duran said of his clients. “A lot of them come in with their COVID cuts, and they want to get it cleaned up and look good again.”
Atwater passes COVID-19 business resolution
On a related note, the City of Atwater on Monday took steps to sustain local businesses amid the coronavirus-caused economic strain.
Atwater City Council unanimously passed a resolution allowing businesses to temporarily expand into public and private common areas.
Cities across the nation, including Merced, have taken similar steps to increase businesses’ customer capacity while also practicing social distancing.
“The reason we’re doing this, is because we don’t know which way the state’s going or the county’s going at any given time, and we want to make sure we ratify this to protect our local restaurants and business owners,” said Atwater Mayor Paul Creighton at the meeting. “The goalpost keeps getting moved for reopening California.”
Latest Merced County coronavirus numbers
The death of one additional Merced County resident was confirmed by the Merced County Department of Public Health on Tuesday.
The total number of COVID-19-related fatalities in Merced County since the pandemic’s start is now 118.
The deceased resident was a man, age 65 or older. It is unknown whether he had underlying health conditions prior to his death, according to County Public Health.
Along with the new death came 49 new laboratory confirmed novel coronavirus cases, according to County Public Health. The county’s caseload now stands at 8,081 known infections.
Active hospitalizations also increased by one to 97. Residents hospitalized at facilities within the Merced County number 26, with the rest being cared for at facilities outside of the county.
The percentage of residents screened for coronavirus within the last week who tested positive rose slightly on Tuesday from 9.6% to 9.8%. One required component to drop Merced County down to a less stringent reopening tier is a positivity rate of less less than 8%.
The active case count continued to fall on Tuesday to 910. Cases presumed active are based on the number of positive COVID-19 tests within the last two weeks.
Active coronavirus outbreaks also decreased on Tuesday by one to 18 total.
The Livingston Foster Farms plant, where the county’s largest COVID-19 outbreak was traced, was scheduled to cease operations on Tuesday night. It will be closed until at least Monday, Sept. 7.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 5:46 PM.
