Starting last Monday, a range of personal services were allowed to resume outdoors in Marin, including nail salons, massage therapy, esthetic services, cosmetology and skin care services. On the coast, providers are struggling to bounce back.
It’s been a bumpy ride: Marin moved to reopen these industries in late June, but rolled back that decision after a spike in cases. Only hair salons were allowed to resume operations at that time, and they were later moved outside. On July 29 however, Governor Gavin Newsom provided new guidelines for the other industries, after permitting counties on the watch list—which account for the majority of the counties in the state, including Marin—to allow outdoor operations.
For many in Marin, the new allowance was too little, too late. Selena Foss, who has operated a nail salon in Point Reyes Station since 2012, balked at the idea of moving outdoors, saying there was no way that would be possible given the lack of outdoor space at her small salon. Since she can only see one person at a time anyway, the requirement was frustrating, she said.
“Outdoor operations may be conducted under a tent, canopy, or other sun shelter as long as no more than one side is closed, allowing sufficient outdoor air movement,” California’s guidance states.
The policy generated immediate backlash. On July 22, the Professional Beauty Federation of California, which has filed litigation against the state, expressed dismay. “Our licensed professionals feel like they had been singled out yet again for unfair restraint,” the federation wrote. “For the vast majority of our 53,000 licensed establishments, this is simply untenable.”
Besides being outdoors, personal services providers must maintain as much physical distance as possible for these services, though they require touch: Masks must be worn, work spaces reoriented, and stringent disinfecting protocols implemented. Employees and clients must have their temperatures taken and answer Covid-19 screening questions.
Skin care professionals are advised to wear both a face shield and a face covering whenever their clients are unable to wear a mask, and to use disposable gloves. Manicurists must wear gloves, and pedicurists have to disinfect tubs with disinfectants approved by the E.P.A. that triple as bactericides, fungicides and virucides. Plastic partitions between workers and clients are recommended, as are fans.
Massage therapists don’t have to wear gloves unless they are working on someone’s face, and are recommended not to touch their clients’ hands.
In a brief note about moving outside, the state also warns that rewiring and the use of electrical extension cords can increase the likelihood of electrical hazards, including fire and electrocution. California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health also offers guidance on how to protect operations from the heat.
Amanda Mann, an aesthetician, recently closed her spa in Bolinas where nine other people provided a range of services. Ms. Mann said she was researching the new regulations, and thinking about how to set up a new outdoor space.
For others, the new allowance doesn’t change much. Kara Golux, a massage therapist, said she waited for months to see how the public health crisis was developing, and just weeks ago decided to stop renting her space in Point Reyes Station. Despite the new rules, Ms. Golux said she wouldn’t move to resume massage until “we are further along not only with the medical science, but also the public health response.”
She explained, “It’s the responsible thing to be conservative, and I had to consider my clientele, and that a large majority of the people in this community are of an age that the virus could have more serious effects.”
Lorraine Fisher-Smith, a massage therapist in the area for three decades, said she has shifted her focus to offering personal training through Zoom. “When Marin came under that additional surveillance, I knew it would be a while,” she said.
Marin will be able to get off the state’s watch list when it meets certain indicators, including achieving a case rate of below 100 positives per 100,000 residents over the course of two weeks. On Tuesday, Dr. Matt Willis, Marin’s public health officer, said Marin was showing 171 cases.
Yet with fewer than 200 cases per 100,000 residents averaged over two weeks, Marin will be able to open one additional sector: If it is still below this threshold tomorrow, the county will reopen short-term rentals on Aug. 24. That is the last step that Marin can take toward re-opening its economy while still being on the watch list.
Dr. Willis said that although recent problems with the state’s Covid reporting were casting some doubt on the numbers, the percentage of tests that were positive in Marin was trending down slightly, as recorded by the county. On July 29, there was a peak positivity rate of 10.3 averaged from the previous two weeks; now, that rate is down to 9.1.
Test result turnaround times have also improved, Dr. Willis said, with locations that use Quest labs coming down from a height of 10 days in mid-July to four days currently. Marin’s drive-through site at the Civic Center, available to all at no cost, is turning results around within 36 hours.
Earlier this week, 20 cumulative cases were recorded for Point Reyes Station since the start of the pandemic. And all the other towns on the coast still show fewer than 10 cases each.