TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Twitter account had a big announcement coming from the owner of a barbershop in downtown Orlando.
J Henry of J Henry’s Barber Shop invited everyone out to his shop and other barbershops and salons that would be able to open Monday, May 11 in all counties that are in Phase 1 of the governor’s reopen Florida plan.
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Here’s a major announcement from my friend J Henry, owner of J Henry’s Barber Shop in downtown Orlando. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/KnXFaMRVns
— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) May 8, 2020
Miami-Dade and Broward County haven’t been allowed to join Florida’s phased plans yet. Palm Beach County was also not included initially, but Mayor Dave Kerner sent a letter to DeSantis pleading for permission to reopen his county and the governor agreed on Friday.
Barbershops and salons were not initially included in the Phase 1 stage of reopening.
Since Palm Beach County will now be in Phase 1 starting Monday, it will be opening these businesses as well as others allowed in Phase 1. Palm Beach’s Mayor also said Friday he is targeting May 18 to reopen public beaches.
DeSantis said any of the facilities that would open their shops Monday would have to use enhanced safety protocols. See the protocols here.
In his expansion of the Executive Order of Phase 1, DeSantis stated that “data collected by the Florida Department of Health indicates that the State continues to flatten the curve.”
The Florida Department of Health reported Saturday that “since 11 a.m. on May 8, 46 people have died who tested positive for COVID-19 in Broward, Charlotte, Dade, Flagler, Lee, Manatee, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota, Seminole and Walton counties.”
As of Saturday, the state’s health department confirmed that Florida had risen above the 40,000 mark. There are 40,001 cases of COVID-19 in the state, 1,715 deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus and 7,093 hospitalizations.
On Friday, during a news conference in Palm Beach, DeSantis said he would also like to move Miami-Dade and Broward into Phase 1, possibly starting May 18.
“I think that there was a sense that they needed a little more time to be ready to reopen,” DeSantis said.
Miami-Dade County’s Mayor Carlos Gimenez has set a target date for the county to start re-opening May 18. Broward County officials said they will work together with Miami-Dade County on the date of re-opening.
RELATED: Florida’s latest numbers as state re-opens.
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