COVID Restrictions: Bay Area Salon Operators Push Back Against Latest Lockdown
FREMONT (KPIX 5) -- As ICU bed availability continues to drop and much of the Bay Area begins its third round of lockdowns, some in the beauty industry are pushing back, arguing that they are being made COVID scapegoats.
Joanna Brignolo, the owner of Visual Image Salon in Fremont, is "angry, anxious, and frustrated" at the new health orders. She's wondering if her business can last much longer.
"I can't. Certainly not another month," said Brignolo.
Brignolo points to the enhanced protocols salons must follow, including rules for sanitation, social distancing, temperature checks and questionnaires, and hand sanitizer. This is in addition to the hundreds of hours of training required for state certification, said Brignolo.
She feels the new health order is unfair, heavy handed and puts the livelihoods of those in the beauty industry in jeopardy.
"Give us a chance. Let us prove to you that we can do this, that we are being safe and that we do value our clients. We don't want anyone to get sick. We don't want to get sick, we don't want to bring it home," said Brignolo. "We're wearing our masks we're doing our part, we're really trying with all of our effort to make this work."
Five Bay Area counties are imposing a stay-at-home order in advance of the state's new regional order tied to ICU bed availability.
At a press briefing Monday morning, Governor Gavin Newsom answered reporters' questions about struggling business owners.
"I deeply recognize people's pain and suffering this moment," said Newsom. "We're just simply trying to do our best. And I recognize it's never good enough. But we're not going to give up. And we're going to continue to do our best to provide more support during this very very challenging time."
Fred Jones, legal counsel for the Professional Beauty Federation Of California, had previously sued the governor to reopen their industry during the second wave in the summer. Jones said the new health uses the beauty industry as scapegoats.
"They have become the sacrificial lambs to the COVID gods every time our elected officials, and in particular our governor, calls upon his health bureaucrats to get more aggressive about COVID. But they're not going after some of these huge retail stores. They're not going after our grocery stores where we all mix and mingle and touch fruits and vegetables. They're going after the small guys," said Jones.
