With a surge in COVID-19 cases in Texas and the proliferation of the Delta variant, some north Texas business owners are rethinking their eased COVID-19 protocols.
Salon Purple in Fort Worth, owned by Terry Whiddon, has reopened for more than a year. Whiddon said business is booming overall, topping sales by around 35% from that point last year. Her team of eight was busy tending to her growing client list and taking care of the salon itself, he said.
“We no longer disinfect our chairs and bowls. We just disinfect every use so we get a more thorough cleaning, ”he explained. “Some of the teammates are currently wearing [masks] all day every day. “
With a new school year approaching in Fort Worth, combined with a surge in COVID-19 cases and hospital stays, Whiddon said they expect to bring masks back to their salon. His team will “bring the charges” by wearing them back first before encouraging customers to do the same, Whiddon said.
“You are [team] Pushing for it because we all have older parents at home. Some are pregnant or have young children at home, grandchildren come by. I don’t want to live in fear, but I don’t want to play with live wires either, ”he said. “Even if you’re vaccinated, it’s still respectful. I’m not going to put the sign on my door that says, ‘If you’re vaccinated, you’re mask-free,’ because then it’s like judging people. There should be no judgment in a hair salon. It’s about beauty and happiness. “
According to the Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council, 1,489 COVID-19 patients will be treated in hospitals in Trauma Service Area E as of Friday. Stephen Love, President of the Council, noted that the number of patients only increased a day ago. Tarrant County currently has the most hospitalized COVID-19 patients at 557 as of Friday.
This week, a new executive order from Texas Governor Greg Abbott in connection with the coronavirus pandemic prohibits local governments from restricting company capacities or requiring face covers. Decisions like this are entirely up to the individual companies, a spokesman for Governor Abbott made clear on Friday.
Ann Shaw, co-owner of Shaw’s Patio Bar and Grill in Fort Worth, said they are encouraging all of their employees to get vaccinated in hopes of fighting the spread of the virus. At that point, Shaw said they have no plans to force the use of masks again.
“I can not. I mean, the staff can’t. It’s really hard in a restaurant to serve tables, be a bartender, take orders over the phone … I mean, it’s hard with a mask, “Shaw told NBC 5 on Friday.” They’re hot. I had a couple of employees, who literally almost passed out because it was hot. We were on the terrace and I’m not going to do it to them again. They don’t want it and I don’t want it. “
Shaw added that all of her sanitizing efforts to keep the restaurant safe and clean remain in place. Over the past year, they added sanitizing stations to various locations in their Magnolia Avenue restaurant.
“It’s nobody’s fault. That happened and we’re trying to deal with it, ”she said. “I pray every night that we will get this under control and that people will make good decisions.”
Both Whiddon and Shaw say they ask customers to respect decisions made by companies like theirs about protocols.
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