City Seeking County Guidance on Opening Barbershops, Beauty Salons

As of Sunday, Pasadena officials had issued no new orders that would allow beauty salons and barbershops to open.

On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced changes in the reopening process for counties stricken by the novel coronavirus. As part of that reopening guidelines process, nail salons and barbershops can reopen in other parts of the state, but not here, at least not yet.

“We are working in coordination with the county to determine next steps, so no new orders yet,” said Pasadena Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian.

Pasadena has its own Health Department and can be more restrictive than state and county health orders, but the city cannot be more lenient.

Los Angeles city officials also have not allowed those businesses or indoor malls to reopen, despite the governor’s order.

“Since county orders may be more restrictive than state guidance, all current restrictions remain in place until the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Board of Supervisors have an opportunity to review the suggested guidance from the state and take actions that are appropriate for our county,” according to a statement issued by the county Public Health Department.

For the most part, Pasadena has been aligned with county orders since the pandemic began.

Hours before the governor declared a safer at home order Mayor Terry Tornek appeared with health officials from the county and the city of Los Angeles to declare that Pasadena had issued its own order under the city’s declaration of a local emergency.

Health officials have expressed concerns that the state could see another increase in the virus spread if people are not careful over the Labor Day weekend next week.

Labor Day is celebrated as the close of summer during which time people gather at beaches and hold barbecues.

The state saw spikes in hospitalizations and infections after the July Fourth holiday, according to county officials.

In other news, Newsom scrapped his county watchlist on Friday in favor of a color-coded system.

L.A. County is in the purple tier, the most restrictive of the four colors, indicating widespread COVID-19 activity.

Most non-essential businesses must remain closed during that stage, with some operations.

Over the past two weeks, the average daily case rate for the previous two weeks was 13.1 new cases per 100,000 residents, health officials said.

To get to the next tier, the county will have to maintain a daily average of four to seven cases per 100,000 residents, and a testing positivity rate of between 5 and 8 percent.

But while the county continues to struggle, Pasadena has not seen a death related to the coronavirus in nearly a month.

Currently, 36 people are being treated at Huntington Hospital for the virus. As of Saturday, 2,362 had contracted the virus and 111 people had died.