Barber Kola Peavy trims customer Aaron Bolling’s hair at the Barber Studio in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. (Cam Bonelli/Hattiesburg American via AP)AP
Some Oregon counties may slowly begin to reopen certain businesses as early as Friday, pending approval by the state.
One of those sectors is “personal services,” which includes hair and nail salons, massage therapists and tattoo parlors.
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Before these businesses can open in approved counties, however, they must be ready to follow strict new guidelines, which include asking clients screening questions, employing physical distancing measures and recording client information.
The new guidelines resulted in a lot of questions. Here are some of those questions, answered by experts.
One of the screening questions for personal service clients is about contact with COVID-19 positive people. If I am a healthcare professional who comes into contact with coronavirus patients for work, am I not allowed to get a haircut or a tattoo?
“Healthcare personnel who consistently and correctly use the recommended PPE (personal protective equipment) during any contact with COVID-19 patients would be able to use personal care services like salons or tattoo parlors,” said Dr. Paul Cieslak, a senior health adviser for the Oregon Health Authority.
One of the screening questions for personal service providers is: “Have you had shortness of breath?” Another is: “Have you had a cough?” If those are yes answers, you are supposed to reschedule the appointment. What if you chronically have shortness of breath or a cough? Can you not get a haircut, massage or other personal service?
The Oregon Health Authority said that people who have a chronic cough or breathing difficulties that have not changed from their baseline don’t have to reschedule their appointments. “Please explain your situation to the personal service provider,” the agency said, “and wear a mask.”
If a county near me opens before my county, can I travel there for a haircut or a massage?
“Please follow the restrictions in effect in your county,” the Oregon Health Authority stressed. “Many people traveling for services to counties that have been able to move to a more open status will certainly increase the risk of disease transmission. We ask that you limit non-essential travel both within and outside your county.”
Why can service providers be close to clients but clients have to be 6 feet away from each other?
“Any close contact increases risk,” the Oregon Health Authority said, “but some services can be provided only with close contact between with the client so in this sense it is unavoidable. We do, of course, ask that during such close encounters, proper masking and hand hygiene be maintained to reduce the risk as much as possible. On the other hand, clients being near each other is not essential to the provision of the service, so the risk is not justified.”
If my service sector reopens but I choose not to reopen my business, can I still qualify for unemployment?
“For those receiving regular unemployment benefits, if they’re called back to work, the workplace meets the Governor’s guidelines for re-opening, and they don’t have any COVID-specific situations apply to them, they are ineligible for benefits,” said Oregon’s State Employment Economist Gail Krumenauer.
“If they go back to work at a reduced schedule, they can get partial benefits (and right now the $600 additional payments would apply for eligible weeks) in addition to their pay.”
The state has an FAQ to that goes into more detail about resuming work, which is a good place to start understanding the rules about benefits.
“This is the most layering we’ve ever seen on the unemployment insurance benefits system,” Krumenauer said, “and since every person’s individual situation differs, there are very few (if any) direct yes/no answers to the many relevant questions out there!”
— Lizzy Acker
503-221-8052, lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
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