Barber who defied lockdown order tests positive for coronavirus, New York officials say
In defiance of New York’s stay-at-home order, a barber in Kingston took hair appointments, county health officials say.
Now, health commissioners are advising anyone who had their hair cut at the shop in the last three weeks to seek testing for coronavirus after the barber tested positive for COVID-19, NBC reported.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo directed all non-essential businesses - including barbershops, beauty salons, nail salons and other personal hygiene services - to close as part of the “New York on Pause” order put in place in late March, according to Mid Hudson News.
“We are taking extraordinary measures to try and minimize the spread of this dangerous disease and learning that a barbershop has been operating illicitly for weeks with a COVID-19 positive employee is extraordinarily disheartening,” Dr. Carol Smith, Ulster County health commissioner, said in a statement on the Ulster County Department of Health and Mental Health’s website. “As much as we would all like to go out and get a professional haircut, this kind of direct contact has the potential to dramatically spread this virus throughout our community and beyond. I urge anyone who has received a haircut at a Kingston barber in the last several weeks to immediately contact their physician or call our hotline to arrange for a diagnostic test.”
The health department did not identify the name of the business or the barber, the Daily Freeman reported.
Ulster County has more than 1,500 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 62 deaths linked to the disease, according to the Department of Health. The city of Kingston itself has 194 confirmed cases, the department said.
Health officials in Oklahoma announced this week that a worker at a nail salon in Washington County tested positive for coronavirus less than two weeks after the store reopened under the state’s relaxed regulations, the Kansas City Star reported. The Nailspot will close for two weeks, according to The Kansas City Star.
The salon posted on Facebook earlier this month that one of the workers was exposed to the virus between May 5 and May 7, but it stayed open while “taking every precaution to ensure the safety and well being” of its clients and workers, the Kansas City Star reported.
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Barber who defied lockdown order tests positive for coronavirus, New York officials say."