Undeterred by a barrage of criticism, Georgia state officials moved ahead Friday with plans to allow some nonessential businesses to reopen, even as coronavirus deaths increase statewide.
Gov. Brian Kemp, a first-term Republican, was one of the last state leaders to issue a stay-at-home order, effective April 3, to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Some business owners have said they’re opening while implementing precautions that will keep them and their customers safe.
Shannon Stafford told CNN that customers at her salon in Savannah will have their temperatures checked when they arrive and have to fill out a questionnaire. Stylists also will be vigilant about wearing masks, washing their hands and making sure they use fresh garments, she said.
“Hopefully that’s enough to be able to protect my business,” Stafford said.
But others believe it’s too soon to reopen and have decided to remain closed until they feel it’s safe, like Sabrina Watkins, who runs a hair salon in the Atlanta suburb of College Park. She has no plans to return to work, even though some customers called asking if they could get their hair styled Friday.
“I said, ‘No, absolutely not. Get your hair done for what?'” Watkins said. “There’s a pandemic, people are dying. As much as I love the business, now is not the time, regardless of who says it is.”
Kemp’s decision has pit him against mayors from cities including Atlanta, Augusta and Savannah, as well as advice rooted in a data model often cited by the White House.
Georgia should not even begin to reopen until June 22, according to the model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which assumes states will implement aggressive testing, contact tracing, isolation and crowd-size limits to prevent more infections.
Georgia offers drive-thru testing and has asked state health officials to test all symptomatic people, the governor has said.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has called Kemp’s decision perplexing for a state battling a virus that’s killed nearly 900 residents and sickened about 22,000 others. Nationwide, the death toll has surpassed50,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
Bottoms said Friday morning that she expects some people will not heed pleas for social distancing.
“They will go into hair salons and go and get manicures and pedicures as if it’s business as usual,” Bottoms told CNN’s John Berman. “And then what I expect is that in a couple of weeks we will see our numbers continue to rise in this state.”
“Nothing has changed,” she said, urging residents of her city to stay home. “People are still getting infected. People are still dying.”
Business owners conflicted over reopening
As Georgia hums back to life weeks after coronavirus emptied streets, some small business owners are struggling to figure out what’s best.
Businesses that reopen must follow social distancing guidelines, maintain sanitation and screen their employees for symptoms such as fever and respiratory illness, Kemp said. Theaters and dine-in restaurants will be allowed to reopen Monday — even with a statewide shelter-in-place order that expires at the end of the month.
Stafford conceded maintaining 6 feet of distance is not possible between a hair stylist and a client.
“You can kind of distance between the next two people throughout the salon,” Stafford said Friday, “but it’s going to be difficult because we’re so hands on.”
Lester Crowell decided to open his salon in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta with half his staff. Next week, he plans to go back to normal hours with a full staff.
“I definitely have hesitation,” Crowell said. “I’m anxious, I’m scared, I’m excited all at once. I’m just trying to rely on the advice of our local government.”
Sabra Dupree is apprehensive as she reopens her family hair salon in Marietta, she said. But she’s doing it to help some of her stylists who are not receiving unemployment.
The salon has taken extra precautions by minimizing staff and appointments, and moving around workstations, she said. Staff and clients will wear masks at all times and sanitize regularly.
Before the outbreak, Watkins saw about 10 clients daily at the work space she shares with five stylists — an arrangement she said raises the risk of exposure, she said. Some of her clients are elderly and more vulnerable to infections.
“None of us are being tested; how do we track who’s carrying it, who is giving it to whom? I don’t want to take part in spreading the disease and risking their lives,” she said. “Staying home gives us a greater chance until the numbers go down as far as infections and the death toll.”
The head of the Georgia State Board of Cosmetology and Barbers, Kay Kendrick, has applauded the governor’s move, pointing out that most of the 95,000 licensees under the board are independent contractors who don’t have another source of income.
In Martinez, gym owner Greg Smith said he wanted to reopen for his customers who are worried about heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. To keep customers safe, the gym is spacing its equipment 10 feet apart and checking temperatures as clients arrive.
“We believe what we’re offering today and getting our clients started back is going to be as safe as possible,” Smith said.
Meantime, some national gym chains have indicated they will not reopen, even with a green light from the governor.
In an email to members, LA Fitness said it would hold off on opening “while we seek a greater consensus between the federal, state and local authorities on the proper path forward.”
Until then, the company is reconfiguring gyms to space equipment according to social distancing guidelines and reduce capacity by about 30%, the email said. New cleaning protocols are also being put in place.
SoulCycle studios in Georgia will also stay closed Friday, according to Harvey Spevak, the executive chairman of Equinox Group, which owns chains like SoulCycle and Pure Yoga in addition to its health clubs.
The company’s reopening plans will vary by state and local area, Spevak told CNN, based on guidance from officials. The company is implementing precautions like new cleaning technology and consulting infectious disease experts on its plans to reopen.
Some customers were glad to see businesses reopening, including Leon Perpignan, who was in line at a bowling alley in Douglasville 10 minutes before it opened at noon. Typically he bowls four times a week, he said. There were about a dozen bowlers there shortly after opening.
“I know a lot of people disagree and say they should have waited,” he said, “but I was 100% ready (for this).”
If people are worried they should stay home, Perpignan said, adding, “No one’s forcing you to come out.”
“Besides,” he added, “all my ‘honey-do’ lists are done.”
Kemp’s move criticized as other Southern states take similar steps
Health experts have criticized the move to reopen Georgia, saying it’s too soon and risks setting off another wave of infections. President Donald Trump at first applauded Kemp for his aggressive plan to restart the economy, a source told CNN, then publicly bashed him during news briefings.
“I told the governor of Georgia, Brian Kemp, that I disagree strongly with his decision to open certain facilities,” Trump said. “But, at the same time, he must do what he thinks is right.”
Neighboring states are also starting to take steps toward reopening. In South Carolina, GOP Gov. Henry McMaster announced some stores could reopen at 20% capacity along with beaches.
That state shouldn’t reopen until June 8 at the soonest, the health institute’s modeling indicates.
Mayor Stephen Benjamin of Columbia accused McMaster of using “arbitrary dates” instead of data to decide on reopening, while Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the governor’s reopening plan was “a measured response” that took safety and social distancing into account.
