by Hannah Bleau
Some Pennsylvania business owners are reopening their businesses in defiance of Gov. Tom Wolf’s stay-at-home orders, citing the need to save their livelihoods.
“I had to save my business,” Julie Potter, owner of East Freedom’s Tame Your Mane salon, told NBC Philadelphia. “I couldn’t let it end like that.”
The salon has increased safety precautions, like temperature checks, the use of masks, and increased sanitization, according to the owner.
Gorilla House Gym in Altoona has also reopened despite the governor’s orders, barring the reopening of “nonessential businesses” like salons and gyms — even in the “yellow” phase of reopening.
“No one allowed us to do this,” owner Ray Ross stated, according to the Altoona Mirror. “We did this on our own. We just decided to do it.”
“We didn’t ask permission to do it. We just did it, and we’re going to keep doing it. Someone had to take a stand,” he added. “Enough is enough.”
Officials have cited the gym, but Ross said he has no intention of closing.
“The governor keeps pushing back the opening day, and it’s pretty obvious this has turned political. Nurses are being laid off, and the hospitals are not overrun,” he stated, adding they have received an “insane” amount of support from gym-goers.
Both businesses are located in Blair County, which is not included in the 24 counties Wolf said could enter into the state’s “yellow” phase on Friday, May 8, even though it has just 25 coronavirus cases. Even so, the “yellow” phase continues to bar salons and gyms from reopening.