Fear not keeping people from seeking haircuts

Jurek Williamson began cutting hair as a hobby when he was 12. He started doing it as a professional when he was 19.

“I taught myself how to cut my own hair, because I couldn’t go to the barbershop like I needed to,” said Williamson, 44, who owns Kings Temple Barber Shop in Bartlett.

“But everybody said they liked the way I cut ... so I wound up doing it for a living.”

But more than a month ago, when COVID-19 forced the state and city to shut down non-essential businesses, Williamson didn’t just lose his income. He lost part of his identity.

So yesterday, Williamson donned a mask, doused his shop’s doorknob and surfaces with bleach and disinfectant, and went about reviving both.

He opened his shop on the day officials approved the first phase of reopening of personal services, and as proprietors of such shops and salons around Shelby County began to take appointments for when they open later in the week or month.

The facilities were allowed to open if they adhered to specific guidelines. They include: Masks, hand sanitizer and gloves must be

volving “close personal contact” like hair and nail salons to reopen with restrictions. Moving to this phase would occur, at earliest, 14 days from phase one. Mcgowen said they “don’t intend to waiver from” that rule.

Alisa Haushalter, director of the Shelby County Health Department, said the COVID-19 case count increase of 29 from Tuesday is the smallest increase Shelby County has seen since March.

According to Haushalter, it shows that compliance with the “Safer at

Home” order has been strong, as case numbers are typically a reflection of what the community was seeing 10 to 14 days earlier.

Any coronavirus case surge that could occur from the “Back to Business” plan due to not adhering to social distancing guidelines would also be seen 10 to 14 days from its beginning, Haushalter said.

“We will be watching that 10-to-14 day window very closely,” she said.

Max Garland covers Fedex, logistics and health care for The Commercial Appeal. Reach him at max.garland@commercialappeal.com or 901529-2651 and on Twitter @Maxgarlandtypes.

JOE RONDONE/THE COMMERCIAL APPEAL Jurek Williamson, the owner of Kings Temple Barber Shop in Memphis, cuts the hair of Dashawn Whiting, 16. It was the first day he was able to reopen his shop during phase one of the city’s plan to restart the economy after it was shuttered over fears stemming from spread of the coronavirus pandemic.