One of North Carolina’s most powerful Republican elected officials has called on Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to give county governments the ability to reopen barbershops and hair salons now.

Senate leader Phil Berger said on Wednesday that most Southeastern states have allowed these personal service businesses to reopen in some capacity. They are mostly run by small business owners who have struggled to receive unemployment benefits and need work so they and their employees can earn a living, Berger said in a news release.

Hair salons and barbershops remain closed in the first part of Cooper’s three-phase plan that began May 8 to ease out of the state’s stay-at-home order, along with gyms, movie theaters and tattoo parlors.

“The majority of states in our region and the country have reviewed the science, facts and data and reached a different conclusion than Gov. Cooper’s,” Berger said. He suggested counties would mandate salons and barbershops accept reservations only and require employees and customers to wear masks.

In a news conference later Wednesday, state Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen acknowledged the frustration with the closings but said haircuts and salon services are close person-to-person indoor activities that are at higher risk for spreading the virus.

The second phase, when such personal services would resume, could begin as soon as May 22. Cooper hasn’t been too keen on setting rules by region, saying the virus doesn’t stop at county boundaries. Cohen said she and Cooper would on Thursday publicly discuss the latest data that’s being analyzed to make decisions.

Berger’s call is the latest recent criticism from Republican officials and conservative activists about Cooper’s decisions to loosen stay-at-home restrictions. Cooper defended his stay at home order on Tuesday against the comments, saying “pandemics cannot be partisan.”

Photo via NC Department of Public Safety.

Related Stories
‹
Governor Cooper Defends Rules for Businesses, Churches
Stating “pandemics cannot be partisan,” North Carolina Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday defended his eased stay-at-home order as criticism mounted from elected Republican officials and demonstrators who gather weekly outside his home. Cooper’s altered COVID-19 order, which took effect Friday, allowed more businesses to open to customers as long as social distancing rules are […]
Gov. Cooper: North Carolina to Move to Phase 1 Beginning Friday
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said he will sign an executive order for the state to enter Phase 1 of lifting the restrictions issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cooper said North Carolinians’ efforts to stay home, use face coverings and physically distance themselves when in public have affected the virus’ spread enough to move into […]
Hundreds Demand North Carolina Governor End Stay at Home Order
Hundreds of people angry and frustrated with North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order designed to blunt COVID-19 marched on Tuesday around his home, demanding that he cancel it now to unleash the state’s economy. Carrying placards and banners and chanting, the crowd gathered in a parking lot before being escorted by Raleigh police motorcycles to walk […]
N.C. May Ease COVID-19 Restrictions if Outbreak Pace Slows
North Carolina’s governor said Monday that he could ease some coronavirus-related restrictions on businesses after April if social-distancing practices continue to slow the virus outbreak over the next two weeks. Meanwhile, corrections officials said they are letting some inmates out of state prisons early if they didn’t commit violent crimes and fit criteria such as […]
Gov. Cooper Issues Statewide Stay-At-Home Order, Enacted Monday Night
Governor Roy Cooper announced a statewide stay-at-home order for North Carolina Friday afternoon, marking the latest step to mitigate the spread of the deadly COVID-19 virus. The order bans gatherings of more than ten people at a time and requires businesses to close or have employees work from home, with the exception of essential businesses. […]
Bill to Reopen NC Gyms, Bars Sent to Skeptical Governor After Passing House
The North Carolina legislature passed another bill on Wednesday overturning parts of Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order that keep certain businesses closed to discourage the spread of COVID-19. As with previous legislation sent to him seeking to reopen bars, Cooper is also likely to veto the latest measure, which also ends the shuttering of gyms […]
Trump Threatens to Move RNC Without Assurances from Governor Cooper
President Donald Trump threatened Monday to pull the Republican National Convention out of North Carolina if the state’s Democratic governor doesn’t immediately sign off on allowing a full-capacity gathering in August despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s tweets about the RNC, planned for Charlotte, come just two days after North Carolina recorded its largest daily increase in […]
NC Judge Blocks Governor's Virus-related Orders on Churches
A federal judge in North Carolina on Saturday sided with conservative Christian leaders and blocked the enforcement of restrictions that Gov. Roy Cooper ordered affecting indoor religious services during the coronavirus pandemic. The order from Judge James C. Dever III came days after two Baptist churches, a minister and a Christian revival group filed a […]
Prison Workers Get Free Testing; Gear Going to Nursing Homes
The North Carolina government is offering widespread testing or protective equipment to workers in two of the more vulnerable living settings for COVID-19 outbreaks. The Department of Public Safety unveiled on Thursday a plan to make free testing available starting next week to over 21,000 employees in state prisons or juvenile facilities or those who […]
Lawsuit Filed to Block NC Governor's Order on Churches
Conservative Christian leaders sued North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday to get thrown out his latest restrictions on indoor religious services during the COVID-19 pandemic. They argue the limits, initiated by Cooper with health in mind, violate their rights to worship freely. Two Baptist churches, a minister and a Christian revival group filed the […]
›