Pennsylvania lawmakers urge Governor Wolf to allow hair salons, barbershops to reopen
With things getting desperate for hair salons and barbershops, a growing list of Pennsylvania legislators are asking Governor Tom Wolf to add them to the list of businesses that can partially reopen when things go yellow next week.
"All our stations are on wheels so if we needed to kinda get everything out of the way," said Tara Acosta, owner of Sulimay's Salon and Barber Studio in Fairmont.
She has already been looking at ways to operate at 50% capacity and meet the safety requirements. She says if grocery stores and other businesses can adapt, so can they.
"Honestly I wanna say, they don't get it," she said.
She says what the decision-makers need to understand is keeping things sanitized and germ-free is a big part of the business.
"I mean we spend the first three months of our cosmetology program on disinfecting, sanitizing, disease transmission," said Acosta.
She says fortunately for her, her husband is still working, but some of her staff members are really hurting financially and have still not received any unemployment money.
"Some people live paycheck to paycheck and there are some single parents," she said.
Eleven Democrat state representatives and 6 Democrat state senators are urging Wolf to amend next week's yellow phase to allow hair salons and barbershops to reopen.
"We're asking the governor again to review this again to see if we can move this forward because we feel it's vital to the financial stability of our community," said State Representative Joe Ciresi, a Democrat from Montgomery County.
Meanwhile, many folks are missing their barbershops and hair salons.
"I need a shape up, I need a trim, I just need the whole works," said Marsha Manns from Overbrook.
"My girlfriend's mother is a hairdresser and I'm hoping to get a social distance hair cut from her sooner than later," said Billy Walsh of Center City.
And some have had to resort to doing things themselves.
"Basically I had to learn how to braid my own hair, I had to learn how to sew it in, learn how to dye it," said Amira Williams of Wilmington.
"Yeah I just did it all myself, cut it all off, it's the 'COVID cut,'" said Matt Canard of Center City.
Governor Wolf announced Wednesday that restaurants can offer limited outdoor dining with social distance guidelines and protocols, but so far, no word if salons and barbershops will be added to the list.
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