John Micka, like many owners of gyms, barber shops and salons, is enthusiastic to be allowed to re-open his business after several weeks of being forced to temporarily shut down because of the risk of COVID-19.
His gym, Revolution Fitness in Hattiesburg, is one of the many that re-opened Monday after Gov. Tate Reeves gave the go-ahead last week, followed by Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barkers’ approval over the weekend.
“I think we the gyms in Hattiesburg were the first to shut down in the entire state of Mississippi, and we’ve had plenty of time to clean and sanitize all our space,” Micka said. “We’ve met with the mayor a couple of times and got all our guidelines dialed in.
“His guidelines are a little more strict than the governor, and we are happy to abide by those – whatever we can do to keep our members safe and to get our doors open. So we’re excited.”
Barker announced Saturday that the facilities would be allowed to re-open May 11, but with more stringent guidelines than the one Reeves issued. In all gyms and fitness centers, high-touch areas must be sanitized at least once ever two hours, and hours will be limited from 5 a.m.-10 p.m. to accommodate for necessary sanitizing measures.
All common areas will remain closed, with the exceptions of bathrooms and locker rooms, and no patrons with a fever or COVID-19 symptoms will be allowed in. Sanitizer will be provided at the centers, and all clients must sanitize their hands when entering and exiting the guy, and when moving between exercise equipment.
Capacities are determined by square footage of the gym area, and classes must be kept to groups of 10 or under with protocols to stagger classes and prohibit gatherings. If class space is smaller than 2,500 square feet, group sizes will be reduced to five or less.
“We’re following the mayor’s guidelines, where we’re limiting our hours, and we have extra staff who are wiping and sanitizing,” Micka said. “We’re doing temperatures when they come in the door, and everyone has to use hand sanitizer and wipe everything down before and after.
“We’ve spaced a lot of our equipment out 6 feet apart, and I actually discussed our members wearing masks before the mayor put that out.”
Hattiesburg barber shops and salons will operate by appointment only, with a maximum capacity of one client per time per employee. No more than 10 people will be allowed in the building at any one time. At least six feet will be allowed between chairs booths, washing stations, and the like.
Lobby waiting areas will be closed, and items such as magazines, popcorn poppers and coffee pots will be removed. Customers will not be allowed to congregate outside of the salon.
No clients with fever or symptoms of COVID-19 will be allowed, hand sanitizer will be placed at all points of entry and exit, and all linen hampers and trash containers will be cleaned and disinfected daily.
Dana Holifield, owner of Dana’s Family Haircare in Petal, will open her shop Tuesday.
“There’s three of us, but we’re going to take precautions – we’re going to wear a mask,” Holifield. “Our shop is little – it’s not too big – so we’re going to put a curtain up between us, so we won’t be right on each other.
“And the other girl, she’s going to be six feet from me, so she’ll have her customer and I’ll have my customer. And I’m only going to work two days a week, so we’re not going to all three of us go together and work. We’re excited, and nervous too, about this.”
