Weber, Morgan, Davis Counties Talk About Plans for Businesses To Reopen
Apr 22, 2020, 8:01 PM | Updated: 8:11 pm
FARMINGTON, Utah – Officials from the Weber-Morgan Health District in collaboration with the Davis County Health Department announced that they will follow the state’s guidelines anticipating a soft opening of the economy on May 1.
Many business owners have already begun preparing.
“We’ve been closed since March 18, and we’ve been preparing for the reopen since March 18,” said salon owner Maia Maass.
She said she has 20 employees at Bombsell Studio – all of them eager to get back to work.
Maass was doing everything she can to make that opening stick, and bring back customers.
Here’s the breakdown they’ve handed out: pic.twitter.com/ac25Cqn2Mv
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) April 22, 2020
“It’s been very rough. As a business owner, my first priority is my employees,” she said.
She has spent the last several weeks remodeling, sanitizing, and preparing to have open stations, all spaced six feet apart.
No one was quite sure what the reopening guidelines will be. They are sure to include social distancing standards, wearing face masks, and regular disinfecting.
That was already part of Maass’ plan.
“We do have a lot of high-risk clients that come in and out to get their hair done.” She said. “We have to make sure our clients feel 100 percent safe.”
County commissioners said they were working with their health departments to balance safety and economics.
“Just because some of these businesses open doors, there’s a concern that the confidence of our citizens might not quite be there, but that data is looking good,” said Davis County Commissioner Lorene Kamalu. “If we continue to be responsible in that we are guided by our health department.”
Weber County Commissioner Gage Froerer agreed.
“We have a responsibility, as elected officials, to get these businesses back in business in a timely manner, in a safe manner,” he said.
Maia Maass hoped they were right. As a person who has been in business for just only a year, she said the past weeks have not been easy for her or her employees.
“It seems like a very long time. It’s a long time to be off without any pay,” she said.
Commissioners from the three counties said guidelines will coincide with the Utah Leads Together plan that has been put out by the Governor Gary Herbert’s Coronavirus Task Force.
More specific instructions were expected to be released Tuesday.
