PASADENA (CNS) - Pasadena's Health Officer issued a revised Safer at Home Order allowing the re-opening of hair salons and barbershops indoors at a maximum of 25 percent capacity, a city spokeswoman said Thursday.

What You Need To Know

  • Pasadena Health Officer revised Safer at Home Orders to allow salons, barbershops to operate indoors

  • Mandatory safety measures must be implemented including reducing capacity to 25 percent

  • Providing outdoor service as much as possible will still be encouraged

  • Physical distancing, pre-screening for COVID symptoms among other mandatory measures

Hair salons and barbershops were still encouraged to provide outdoor services as much as possible because current scientific evidence appears to indicate a general lower risk of COVID-19 transmission outdoors compared to indoors. Those salons operating outdoors should continue to do so, and use the up to 25 percent indoor capacity to supplement those services with services that cannot be offered outdoors, city spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.

The reopening of these operations coincides with the launching of a State of California framework titled "Blueprint for a Safer Economy," a new four-tiered structure for tracking how communities are faring with COVID-19 in each of the state's 61 local health jurisdictions and providing criteria for loosening and tightening restrictions on activities.

Under the new framework, each county has been grouped into one of four colored tiers -- Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate) and Yellow (Minimal) -- based on metrics relating to the number of cases of COVID-19 and the amount of testing in the County.

Los Angeles County is one of 38 counties that will start in the purple tier, and the three local public health jurisdictions within LA County are assigned to the same tier based on combined county-wide data. Pasadena has its own health department.

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Barbershops and hair salons reopening protocols include the following:

-- Physical distancing measures must remain in place.

-- Staff and customers must be screened for COVID-19 symptoms prior to service.

-- Clients and staff feeling unwell should reschedule appointments.

-- Everyone, including clients, must wear cloth face coverings while in the salon or barbershop, and clients are encouraged to wear face coverings with earloops to ensure the face covering does not interfere with hair service, Derderian said.

-- Magazines, coffee and other amenities that entail high contact may not be offered.

-- Clients are encouraged to use credit cards and contactless payment systems.

-- If electronic or card payment is not possible, customers should come with exact cash payment or check, if available.

-- Stylists may only serve one client at a time.

The new state framework prohibits all personal grooming services (other than hair services) from indoor operation while a county remains in tier 1. These services that must still be offered outdoors following their respective state licensing agency guidelines include:  Esthetician, skin care, and other cosmetology services. Nail services, Massage therapy, Electrology, permanent makeup, tattoo, and body piercing may not be provided at this time.