While Minnesota sends police to shut down a barbershop, Texas gives guidelines for today’s reopening

By now many people have heard the story of King Milan’s Barbershop, the St. Paul barbershop that now faces up to $25,000 in fines after the police were dispatched to close down the business on Monday after the owner, Milan Dennie, opened up the shop during Governor Walz’s recently-extended Stay-At-Home order. Meanwhile, in Texas, the state has provided health and safety guidelines to allow barbershops, hair salons, nail salons, and tanning salons to begin reopening today.

Reopening Guidelines for Barbershops, Hair Salons, Nail Salons, and Tanning Salons

According to the Texas Tribune, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and tanning salons can reopen today, with some recommended guidelines. The guidelines for these businesses in Texas are:

“Work stations at hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and tanning salons must be at least 6 feet apart and must be fully sanitized after each customer visit.

All beauty services should use disposable supplies when possible. Any nondisposable supplies must be fully sanitized between customers.

The governor’s task force advises shops to screen all workers and customers at the door for temperature and symptoms. Customers are required to wash their hands upon entrance. Shops should have a wash station, offer disposable towels and have a touchless trash can.

Workers can refuse to serve anybody they suspect to be sick or contagious.

Everyone in the shop is recommended to wear a face mask or face covering. The only exceptions are customers getting a service, like a shave, where their faces have to be visible. Customers should have their masks on immediately before and after the service.

Workers must wear gloves and switch them out between clients. But workers are exempted from wearing gloves if they impede the service. In that case, stylists must wash their hands right before touching a customer.

Workers should be notified of new COVID-19 procedures and required to sign a written statement agreeing to adhere to them.

Appointments should be scheduled in advance so shops can limit the number of people in the building at a time. Walk-in clients and those waiting for their appointments should wait in their cars or outside. Clients cannot bring any extra people to their appointment, including children.”

Many of these precautions are recommended in Texas are the same precautions used by Milan Dennie in St. Paul. For example, Dennie wore a mask while providing haircuts, sanitized combs after each customer, and enforced a rule allowing only one person in the shop at a time. Despite these protocols, he potentially faces large fines from the state, although we are pleased to report that no formal charges had been filed at the time this piece was written.

Instead of punishing Minnesota’s entrepreneurs, the Walz administration should following the lead of states like South Dakota and Texas, which have seen lower unemployment rates during the Coronavirus and lower rates of death from the virus.

Dennie has set up a GoFundMe for potential legal fees. If you wish to contribute, you can click here.