Municipal health officials on Thursday directed the owners of New Canaan salons and “bodycare” businesses to close at 5 p.m. and remain closed until further notice.
According to an Emergency Order signed by the health director, the affected businesses include hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, skincare facilities and massage therapy facilities.
The closures are “necessary actions to protect the public’s health” during the “pandemic emegency,” Jen Eielson said in the order, obtained by NewCanaanite.com.
“Failure to comply with this order will result in your license being revoked,” she said in the order.
The closures mark the latest major change for a community that is being asked to comply with restrictions that emergency officials have put in place in order to slow the spread of COVID-19.
One New Canaan man already has succumbed to the virus, the first selectman said Thursday morning in a press release. Leaders at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church had said in a post last week that a member of the congregation had been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Thursday, church officials corrected local media reports regarding a pastor with the following statement: “The Rev. Elizabeth Garnsey does not, and has not had any symptoms, contrary to what has been published in some media outlets this morning. She has maintained quarantine as required by the CDC because of her close pastoral contact with a confirmed positive case of COVID-19. She is well and continues to be so.”
New Canaan Public Schools will remain closed until at least April 20, the superintendent said late Wednesday.
New Canaan’s emergency management director is urging residents to observe social distancing guidelines and to support local food service establishments offering curbside pickup.
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Resources
- Sign up for an appointment for drive-thru testing for COVID-19 here.
- Here’s the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID-19 homepage. Here’s the virus-related page on the Connecticut Department of Public Health website.
- Here’s a link to a page on the town’s website that includes information on COVID-19 and a link to sign up for New Canaan’s emergency outcall system.
- Here is the updated list of what is open and closed in New Canaan.
- Here’s a link to the New Canaan Office of Emergency Management Facebook page.
- Here’s a landing page with information from New Canaan Public Schools on COVID-19, here’s the district’s main page for E-Learning.