NH Gov. Sununu Allows Hair Salons, Golf Courses, Retail Stores To Reopen May 11
CONCORD, N.H. (CBS) -- Gov. Chris Sununu announced Friday that he would be implementing a new "Stay at Home 2.0" order that will be in place until May 30. The guidelines include both universal guidelines for any businesses that are open, as well as specific guidelines for certain industries that will be allowed to open May 11.
"We all know that you're healthier at home. And that obviously continues to be true and will be true not just today or next week or next month," Sununu said at a news conference. "But we are taking also taking steps to reopen our economy in a smart, phased approach that's supported by facts, science and data."
Hair salons, drive-in theaters, private golf courses and retail stores will be allowed reopen with some limitations on services. For instance, no blow drying is allowed in hair salons, no walk-in appointments are allowed and reception areas must remain closed. At golf courses, only the courses will be allowed to open, while shops, rentals and any indoors services also offered must remain closed.
The guidelines also say restaurants will be allowed to have outdoor seating by reservation starting May 11. Indoor and bar seating is still prohibited.
On May 4, hospitals can begin time-sensitive procedures including CAT scans, knee-replacement surgeries and MRIs.
The universal guidelines include measures like requiring businesses to keep any workers not feeling well at home, requiring businesses to come up with an employee coronavirus screening process, requiring businesses to implement enhanced cleaning and hygiene and requiring all employees to wear face masks at work and in public.
"There's a baseline set of universal guidelines that pretty much all businesses that are currently operating, we're asking to undertake," Sununu said. "And these are some very simple guidelines and very simple things, very common things that we've many of us have taken on...whether that's just good personal hygiene, physical separation of employees, using PPE or face cloth face coverings when appropriate or necessary."
In all newly opened spaces, employees and customers are required to space themselves while in and outside the space, as well as stagger entrance into the building.
The new guidelines also include updated recommendations for campgrounds, state parks, manufacturing and hospitals.
Sununu said the guidelines were created through meetings with industry professionals and public health officials.
"What we started by doing is using a task force, a bipartisan task force, with legislators, stakeholders...allowing folks to come in...the barbers or cosmetologists, manufacturing, restaurants, they all got to come in talk about some of the impacts that their communities had been feeling, as well as some ideas, and that allowed us to put a lot of different ideas on the table...Then they could bring that up and working hand in hand with the Department of Public Health...ultimately come up with what we're calling 'Stay at Home 2.0," he said.
Sununu also thanked the people of New Hampshire for helping stop the spread of the virus.
"People in New Hampshire...we cannot thank them enough," he said. "Everyone has played a significant part in flattening the curve and slowing the spread of COVID-19. And unfortunately, while we are not through it yet, we know we still have a ways to go."
