Cerro Gordo County public health director says call ahead before heading to barber shops, hair salons

MASON CITY — When barber shops, hair salons, massage therapy and tattoo shops reopen for business tomorrow, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health director Brian Hanft says you might want to call ahead to see if they are taking reservations or to see how busy they are.  “Can you imagine if we all of a sudden threw the doors open and everybody needs it some hair work done that they’re all going to show up and stand in line, it’s not what we want. So please call ahead, talk with the business you would like to frequent, whether that’s a tattoo shop or a barber shop, hair salon, doesn’t matter. Call ahead try to get on the schedule.”

Hanft says customers should try to utilize some of the same pandemic practices when going there.   “I think it’s appropriate that everyone should wear a mask if you have one, if not hopefully the facility that you’re going to have them. I’m sure the facilities themselves will be following cleaning protocols and wiping down chairs or wiping down the surfaces that otherwise be in contact with, all those things we been talking about.”

Hanft says his agency will be available for those businesses if they have any safety concerns in this era of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Barber shops and hair salons are not regulated by the Department of Public Health. However, just like any business, this has been, you know, some of the relational work that we’ve been trying to do is reaching out to those businesses and say we’re here if you need some guidance, if you have any questions, we want to talk about best practices, and so what is it that we should do in order to reducing the risk as much as we can for our patrons and people coming in to see us.”

Hanft says you should also minimize the number of people you try to take to those businesses