US death toll tops 50,000 as some Georgia businesses reopen
Gyms, hair salons and tattoo parlors had a green light to reopen in the US state of Georgia on Friday as the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic soared past 50,000 in the United States.
As the southern state lifted restrictions on a list of businesses that also included nail salons and bowling alleys, President Donald Trump warned that Governor Brian Kemp may be moving too fast.
“Spas, beauty salons, tattoo parlors, & barber shops should take a little slower path,” Trump tweeted.
At the same time, Trump said he had told Kemp, a Republican ally, “to do what is right for the great people of Georgia (& USA)!”
The mixed messaging was the latest from a president whose remarks from the White House podium have frequently raised eyebrows, including most recently a suggestion that disinfectant could be injected to treat patients with COVID-19.
Trump sought to walk back his disinfectant comments on Friday, claiming somewhat unconvincingly that he had been speaking “sarcastically.”
Chris Edwards, owner of the Peachtree Battle Barber Shop, said he was “happy” about being allowed to reopen his store in an Atlanta strip mall, where most businesses nevertheless remained closed.
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“I’m a small businessman,” Edwards told AFP as he gave a trim to a middle-aged man, a physician who declined to be identified.
“If I don’t cut hair I don’t make money,” Edwards said. “We’re being safe, we’re being clean, it’s all you can do.”
Edwards was wearing a mask, but the customer was not. Since opening at 7:00 am the barber said he had had five or six customers.
Rob Flat, owner of Tried and True Tattoo a few blocks away, said he was only taking appointments, not walk-ins, but had not had any customers yet.
“We’re definitely looking forward to opening, but we want to be responsible,” Flat said.
Kemp’s reopening plan — which requires people to wear masks and establishments to check customers for symptoms — has met with criticism from some business owners in the Peach State who voiced fears it is too soon.
