Kansas moving into reopening ‘Phase 1.5’: Hair salons open by appointment, bars closed

Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly will move the state into “Phase 1.5” of her reopening plan next week, allowing barbershops and hair salons to open by appointment but keeping bars, theaters and swimming pools closed.

Beginning Monday, fitness centers and health clubs may also reopen but in-person classes will be prohibited and locker rooms must stay shut. Casinos, theaters and nightclubs will stay closed and mass gatherings of more than 10 people will remain prohibited.

Cities and counties can impose stricter rules than the state, but can’t be less stringent.

Kelly said in a statement that while conditions in the state have improved by some measures — rates of hospitalizations and deaths have declined and a contact tracing program is underway — it would be premature to move fully into phase 2.

“Unfortunately, the daily rate of disease spread has not shown the downward trajectory necessary to move fully into Phase 2,” said Kelly. “I said from the beginning that public safety must remain the top priority, which means that our reopening efforts must be driven by data, not dates. Phase 1.5 will continue our transition, but with necessary caution.”

More than 7,460 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Kansas and at least 164 have died. Health authorities are tracking dozens of clusters stemming from meatpacking plants, religious gatherings, a range of private businesses and the state’s largest prison, in Lansing.

Roughly 700 people have been hospitalized, but at least 422 have been discharged, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Kelly’s decision to ease a few restrictions comes less than two weeks after her reopening plan began. Because the coronavirus has a 14-day incubation period, officials do not yet have a full picture of how the first phase of the reopening affected the spread of the disease.

The governor’s call to take a small step forward comes as she confronts a tough political reality. Republican legislators, angry that the Democratic governor has kept some businesses closed for weeks, will try to restrict her authority when the Legislature reconvenes next week.

“We need the economy working again,” Senate President Susan Wagle, a Wichita Republican for U.S. Senate, said. “We need to start allowing people to feed their families and pay their bills.”

Top lawmakers on Wednesday approved extending Kelly’s emergency authority by only 12 days, to May 26. The short extension leaves the future of her pandemic response in doubt.

Kelly’s reopening plan is set to last until mid-June at the earliest, but she will be unable to enforce it without her emergency powers.

Get a haircut

In an executive order Kelly plans to sign, she says the evolving public health threat posed by COVID-19 requires a “proactive approach to both incrementally re-opening businesses and activities” while limiting the spread of the virus.

The order provides that nail salons, barbershops, hair salons, tanning salons, tattoo parlors and other personal service businesses may reopen by appointment or online check-in. Fitness centers and health clubs may reopen without classes or locker rooms.

Bars would have been allowed to open under phase two at 50 percent capacity. Under phase 1.5, they must stay closed except for carryout. Non-tribal casinos, theaters, museums and other indoor leisure businesses like trampoline parks and arcades must stay closed.

Under phase 1.5, local governments can still impose more stringent rules than the statewide standard but can’t be looser. The flexibility gives cities and counties power to tailor their responses to conditions on the ground but also creates a patchwork of different directives and requirements across the state.

The hodgepodge is especially pronounced in the Kansas City region. The rules depend on whether you’re in Kansas or Missouri and the city and county where you’re located.

So far, Johnson County is following Kelly’s statewide rules. Joe LeMaster, the county public health officer, confirmed the county will follow whatever Kelly decides. Wyandotte County, by contrast, has taken a more restrictive approach.

Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, has largely declined to impose rules stricter than the statewide standard. Sedgwick County Commissioner Jim Howell, who has advocated for restarting the economy sooner rather than later, said he’s glad that personal service businesses will largely be allowed to reopen.

But he questioned why the governor is keeping other places shut down, including pools that are chlorine-sanitized, like the popular Rock River Rapids park in Derby.

“I appreciate her caution, but I think the data is supporting moving forward with opening the economy,” he said. “The other problems we’ve created right now, which is a 41 percent loss of revenue to the state of Kansas and 25 percent unemployment rate here in Sedgwick County, I think that you’ve got to look at everything.

“Right now, the data on the COVID seems to be trending in the right direction and I believe based on that it’s time for us to do what we can to balance this back out again and we need to get our economy back on its feet.”

Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple said the governor’s plan “kind of mirrors” city plans to reopen libraries and other facilities gradually to try to prevent COVID-19 from making a big comeback.

“I don’t think the governor is that far off from what our policy experts and medical advisors are advising us,” Whipple said.

Business anxiety

While many retail stores were able to reopen two weeks ago, some business owners who had to continue to keep their shops closed had grown increasingly frustrated. In one instance, a McPherson barber reopened his shop in defiance of the statewide rules, drawing law enforcement attention.

The barber, Luke Aichele, had faced criminal charges, according to McPherson County Attorney Gregory Benefiel. The prosecutor dropped the charges after Aichele agreed to stay closed until May 18.

Aichele became a cause célèbre among conservatives, who have condemned Kelly for keeping some types of business closed while allowing others to reopen.

“They’re suffering enormously,” House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said of businesses that have been forced to remain closed.

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on Monday said his office is reviewing whether state law allows individuals who violate Kelly’s executive orders during the pandemic to be criminally prosecuted. In response, Kelly said orders “without teeth are useless.”

The Star’s Sarah Ritter contributed reporting

This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 3:01 PM.