New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced new density reduction restrictions to help slow the spread of COVID-19 – part of their uniform, multi-state approach to combating the virus.
All barbershops, hair salons, tattoo or piercing parlors, nail salons, hair removal services, and related personal care services will be closed to members of the public effective Saturday, March 21 at 8PM, as these services cannot be provided while maintaining social distance.
Yesterday, the four governors announced indoor portions of retail shopping malls, as well as amusement parks and bowling alleys in the four states would close by 8 PM Thursday. Earlier in the week, the Governors announced limits on crowd capacity for social and recreational gatherings to 50 people. The governors also announced restaurants and bars would close for on premise service and move to take-out and delivery services only. The governors also temporarily closed movie theaters, gyms and casinos.
“We know how the novel coronavirus spreads, and we are making data-driven decisions as the situation evolves to continue to reduce density and slow the spread of the virus,” Governor Cuomo said. “We remain in constant communication with our neighboring states to ensure we are establishing a set of uniform rules and regulations for the entire region. These temporary closures are not going to be easy, but they are necessary to protecting the health and safety of New Yorkers and all Americans.”
Governor Murphy said, “The fact remains that social distancing is paramount to our broader strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect the most vulnerable members of our community. While we understand the challenge these restrictions pose to our region’s small businesses, we are actively working with the federal government to ensure that financial relief is made available to our business owners and workforce as quickly as possible.”
Governor Lamont said, “Continuing to work collaboratively and quickly throughout this evolving public health emergency, we have made a very difficult decision to direct the closure of establishments that could impact public health—such as barbers, nail and hair salons. Continuing to confront these critical decisions as a region and across our borders will protect all of our state’s residents.”
Governor Wolf said, “Pennsylvania continues to work with our neighboring states to implement mitigation strategies that will fight the spread of COVID-19 in our region. All Pennsylvanians are greatly appreciative of the aggressive approach our neighbors our taking, which will help all of our residents as we address this public health crisis.”