ORLANDO, Fla. — Some beauty salon and tattoo parlor owners say they have new protocols in place amid the growing threat of the coronavirus, but that they remain open.
Gov. Ron DeSantis ordered Florida bars to close and restaurants to limit their capacity. However, he hasn’t said anything about businesses that offer direct services to their clients.
Steven Dorsagno owns Split Endz, a hair and nail salon, on Curry Road. He said that, in the last two days, he has had about 10 people cancel appointments.
“We are doing the best we can to make sure everyone feels comfortable, safe and (can) get their service done,” Dorsagno said. “They’re nervous and people are afraid, and I get it.”
Staff at Split Endz is spraying surfaces and wiping down everything as they continue to welcome clients.
“We just want people to know we are open, we are here and we are taking every precaution possible,” Dorsagno said.
At another smaller salon, owner Airenil Hernandez said they are limiting the capacity to 10, hairdressers included, and they are also not accepting walk-ins.
But even with their new protocol of wearing gloves and masks, people have canceled appointments for hair care, facials and massages.
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Next door, a threading studio closed its doors altogether.
A few blocks away, at Fabulous Nails, they are only letting the client inside. No friends or children are allowed in the waiting area. They also sanitize the place often, and wear masks and gloves, but the cancellations continue.
It’s a different story at Atomic Tattoo on Curry Road.
“We have actually been really busy,” said owner Jack Mihoover, the owner, adding that walk-ins are increasing.
“They are out of work, a lot of them,” he said. “They don’t have anything else to do.”
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All the businesses say they hope to continue welcoming clients.
“We are worried,” Dorsagno said. “We are going to work as much as we can, as long as we can, until they tell us we can’t.”
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