DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Jennifer Macku owns The Place hair salon in Deerfield Beach and plans to let customers come in maskless.
She says, with most of her clients vaccinated, it’s time.
“We do all the right things. We’ve moved all the chairs around. We’ve social distanced. We know our clients. We would never allow anyone in here sick,” she said.
Effective immediately, any remaining local governmental COVID-19 restrictions are done in Florida, thanks to a new order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday.
Mayors in Broward and Miami-Dade counties have said they were blindsided by the move, and criticized it as coming too early.
While local mask orders had technically been in place, they lost their power back in September when the governor ordered local governments to stop fining people for breaking the rules in public.
Then, in March, he ordered them to stop fining businesses.
Businesses can still require mask-wearing as part of their own rules, and many national companies will do that.
Publix and Home Depot both responded to inquiries from Local 10 News, saying they have not yet made any changes to their mask policies.
At Le Val de Loire Restaurant in Deerfield Beach, the manager and owner say staff will likely continue to wear masks to give patrons a sense of ease.
Back at the salon, Macku says anyone who prefers to wear a mask or wants their stylist to, will have their request honored.