Social distancing guidelines close barber shops, salons, tattoo parlors

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Personal care businesses must close by 8 p.m. Thursday if they cannot adhere to the social distancing guidelines laid out to curtail the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Phil Murphy announced Thursday.

“I am ordering effective at 8 p.m. tonight the closure of all personal care businesses which cannot comply with social distancing guidelines. That includes barber shops, hair salons, spas, nail and eyelash salons, tattoo parlors, among others, and social clubs, until further notice,” Murphy said at a COVID-19-related press conference at the Trenton War Memorial.

Social distancing is deliberately avoiding public gatherings and increasing the physical space between people to 6 feet to avoid spreading illness. Social distancing lessens a person’s chances of catching COVID-19.

The closure affects hundreds of businesses statewide. Similar measures had already gone into effect in Jersey City Monday, and in states such as Washington, Kentucky, Ohio and Minnesota earlier this week.

“We are as aggressive as any American state in the steps we have taken,” Murphy said.