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Barbershops, Nail Salons Fear They Could Be Next For Coronavirus Closures

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bars and restaurants are shut down for dine-in, and now barbershops and nail salons fear they could be next.

They tell CBS 2 Morning Insider Tim McNicholas they are already hurting, and bracing for business to slow down even more.

Social distancing and haircuts don't line up. That is why Yohel's Barbershop, at 2834 W. Fullerton Ave., cut only one head of hair in their first two hours Tuesday.

"I have to the face, have to touch the beard, the hairs and stuff," said Yohel Sanjurjo.

Sanjurjo is wiping down all his tools with Clorox and giving gloves to his barbers.

On Monday, he posted a picture to Facebook of the staff wearing masks during haircuts.

"I'm worried because this is a small business. I have to pay rent and in here," Sanjurjo said. "There's not customer coming in."

Sanjurjo said for now, he is trying to earn enough to pay his bills. But if the government says he has to shut down, that is what he'll do.

Some areas have already made that call. In the state of Washington, for example, all hair salons and barbershops must be shut down for the time being.

We even found one barbershop in Illinois that is closing voluntarily. The Sport Clips in Lincolnshire said they won't open back up until April 1.

Meanwhile, Bibi Hernandez's One Stop Salon in Humboldt Park covers not just hair, but nails – which means standing six feet apart is not option.

Hernandez said she is screening clients, and if they say they have any COVID-19 symptoms or they may have recently been exposed to someone with the virus, she will ask them to stay home.

"I am fully aware that we are the industry that's going to be shut down next because it's an unnecessary contact," Hernandez said. "But as a small business owner, I am trying to gather as much income as we can before we have to shut down."

For another hands-on service, massages, a representative of Massage Envy said they are ready to follow any orders from the government. The representative said if any franchise owner finds it "prudent to close, they will do so voluntarily."

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