Governor changes course on salons re-opening, moving date from May 29 to May 6

Though Tuesday evening’s executive order stated the personal care industry would remain closed through May 29, Wednesday morning Gov. Bill Lee told lawmakers the state’s salons and barbershops could re-open on Wednesday, May 6.

During a conference call Lee said opening next week had always been the plan, despite what the executive order said.

He said in a tweet Wednesday morning the order addressed only close-contact businesses without guidance.

Executive Order No. 30 addresses close contact services that have not yet received guidance and remain closed for the time being. As the order stated, we anticipate the safe re-open of these services before May 29.

Read the full order: https://t.co/qoerPDxwpH pic.twitter.com/Y3nwBdJE6j

— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) April 29, 2020

Lee said he planned to announce the re-opening of hair salons, nail salons, barbershops on Thursday, April 30, when guidance from the Unified Command is expected to be released.

Re-opening applies to the 89 of 95 counties with state-run health departments. The remaining six are population dense areas, like Shelby County, which will determine their best courses of action for re-opening.