Mayor Breed and San Francisco Public Health Director Dr. Grant Colfax announced Friday that some SF businesses — mostly in the beauty industry — can start offering certain outdoor services beginning Tuesday of next week.
It’s been a trying time for our city’s nail technicians, massage therapists, and, frankly, any professional who makes a living by helping people feel and look their best. A bit of relief, however, is on the horizon after San Francisco officials said today that people working in certain sectors of the beauty industry can resume some outside services starting September 1.
At 11:15am we'll be holding an update on COVID-19 in San Francisco and our reopening plans moving forward.
— London Breed (@LondonBreed) August 28, 2020
You can watch at https://t.co/V1kXxI6Kpd. pic.twitter.com/eJSMxBy2c1
Per NBC Bay Area and the Mayor's Office, the following services can start up again this coming Tuesday — outdoors:
- haircuts
- barber services
- massages
- nail services
“All businesses in San Francisco are struggling, and while many have been able to reopen with modifications in place, providers of personal services like hair salons, barbershops, and massage studios have remained shuttered,” Breed said in a press release. “This has created a huge financial challenge for their owners and employees, and I am so glad that those businesses will soon be able to reopen for outdoor service. We know it won’t be seamless to operate outdoors, but we stand ready to support programs like Shared Spaces and health and safety [guidelines] so that people can get back to work while also protecting themselves and their clients.”
But in that very same statement from the City, one line has left many scratching their heads: Outdoor gyms and fitness centers can reopen starting September 9, 2020.
“We are as confused as you are,” said co-owner of MX3 Fitness and representative of the newly established SF Independent Fitness Studio Coalition Dave Karraker in a reactive release about the odd nod to gyms and fitness centers. “Mayor Breed announced that outdoor gyms and fitness centers can open starting September 9, 2020. In fact, gyms in the San Francisco Independent Fitness Studio Coalition have already been operating outdoors since July as part of the City’s much-hyped Shared Spaces Outdoor Business program.
“This has been widely covered by local media,” Karraker continued, later adding that the City has still announced no plans as to how they're going to “reopen the dying fitness industry.”
Moreover, Breed and Colfax declared earlier Friday that once San Francisco is removed from the State’s watch list, the City is to put primacy on “gradual opening of classrooms, services that support the development of children, and other activities that can occur outdoors.”
Related: Workout Studios and Boutique Gyms In San Francisco Push Back On Reopening Delay
Image: John Arano
