Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday issued guidance for some counties to take the lead on reopening California barbershops and hair salons that were shuttered during the coronavirus pandemic.
Such establishments would be allowed to open with restrictions if and when public health officials make the call in those 47 counties Newsom designated. Nail salons were not included in the governor's new guidelines.
Those 47 counties have attested to meeting the readiness criteria more quickly than other parts of the state. In the Bay Area, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties were on the list. In Southern California, San Diego County was among those approved.
The guidelines would mark an upcoming launch to Phase 3 of Newsom's four-phase reopening plan for the state. But the timeline for that part of the plan hasn't been made clear.
Once Phase 3 guidance is provided, Bay Area public health officials may choose to fall in line with the governor's guidance or could opt to retain stricter rules, which would take precedence over the state's.
The state's COVID-19 website indicates California still is in Phase 2 of modifying the stay-at-home order issued May 8 that is set to expire Sunday, May 31. There were 66 more virus-related deaths in the state over the weekend and another 19 Monday, state data shows.
California
As of Tuesday morning, California had 96,733 confirmed cases of COVID-19, resulting in 3,814 deaths, according to state data.
On Friday, President Trump declared houses of worship "essential" and called on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to issue guidelines for reopening such establishments. Newsom issued new guidance Monday for houses of worship across California.
He said guidelines for gyms will also be released soon.
During his news briefing Tuesday, Newsom was deadpan as he joked about how his kids did not practice social distancing or PPE guidelines while serving as his personal barber over the weekend. He said it was a "family effort" to get rid of what his wife called a mullet.
