Businesses don't fear Louisville health department's stepped-up COVID-19 enforcement

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The busy hair salon in St. Matthews had been shut down for weeks when co-manager Kelly Taylor began mapping out last May’s reopening.

The salon spaced out stylists’ chairs, contacted customers about mandatory face coverings during appointments and revamped its schedule. Clients were told to stay in the hallway until the staff could take their temperature before entering.

In all of the weeks since its Memorial Day reopening, Hot Locks salon hasn’t seen an inspector from the Louisville health department. But that may soon change.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and the city’s environmental health manager announced plans Tuesday to quadruple surveillance at restaurants, bars and many other businesses that serve the public to ensure compliance with “Healthy at Work” coronavirus guidance.

Fischer cited a rising wave of new coronavirus infections across Jefferson County, with 2,300 additional cases in the last week and 24 deaths. All told, Louisville has had 430 deaths related to COVID-19.

And on Wednesday, Gov. Andy Beshear reported 2,700 new cases, Kentucky's highest daily total, along with 14 deaths and a surge in the positivity rate to 8.12%, the highest since May 5.

Background:City to quadruple virus health inspections, add undercover visits

Indiana, too, set a record for daily cases on Wednesday, recording 5,156 and leading Gov. Eric Holcomb to roll back loosened restrictions that took effect in late September. The size of gatherings allowed in Hoosier counties will be reduced according to the degree of virus spread, starting this weekend. "Red" counties will be limited to gatherings of 25 people or fewer. 

“This entire state is in danger," Beshear said in statement Wednesday. "COVID-19 is absolutely everywhere. We need everybody to wear your masks and follow red zone reduction recommendations and school recommendations. It is a must if you want to lessen the impact in your community."

Louisville leaders said they're not waiting any longer to see that they're getting the compliance they expect.

The city's 37 environmentalists with the health department intend to check events and other public gatherings late at night and throughout weekends — times when there’s reportedly far less compliance with the rules.

They will hit many businesses, besides bars and restaurants, with random, unannounced visits and follow up with warnings and eventually more penalties for noncompliance.

The mayor and Nick Hart, the environmental health manager for the city’s health department, also warned that business licenses could be revoked if repeat offenders fail to get in line.

“We are having recurring, large-impact public threats” at some establishments, and that's adding to the community's outbreak now, Hart said, pointing to a large Halloween dance party at a warehouse that broke all the rules.

Such a potential "superspreader" event can lead to hundreds of new cases.

See also:VA hospital workers in Louisville in line for first COVID-19 vaccines

The city intends to stop routine health inspections at restaurants, groceries, caterers, tattoo parlors, hotels, swimming pools and food trucks in favor of having environmentalists focus on surveillance, much of it unannounced, to check on mask-wearing, social distancing and other "Healthy at Work" rules.

The health department's review of mobility data reported by people who have tested positive for the virus will also be used to identify locations where people visited and might need an additional check, Hart said.

Public health experts in Kentucky and around the country are warning the rise in coronavirus cases is arriving as the seasonal flu and a usual increase in hospitalizations from wintertime illnesses — combined with 308 area coronavirus hospitalizations — could overwhelm the country’s health systems and exhausted medical teams.

Amid rising evidence that community spread of the virus is getting out of control, Fischer and other leaders are urging people to stay home and revert to precautions they took in the spring, by ordering groceries online and avoiding any nonessential trips.

Managers and owners at a variety of businesses contacted by The Courier Journal on Wednesday said they don't expect to get slapped with violations for their safety protocols. In fact, several said they'd welcome having someone review their practices and offer recommendations if there's more they need to do. 

Nobody at Hot Locks is questioning why they all need to stick to the guidelines. The spread now is no joke, Taylor said.

The salon has had three employees test positive for COVID-19, and it was a relief to learn they had each caught the infection outside the salon at gatherings and outings. They quarantined as ordered by the health department, but each person received different guidance from officials about when they could return to work, which confused managers, Taylor said.

Related:Hospitals facing surge cases as beds fill, health care workers get virus

Because of the pandemic, some Hot Locks clients haven’t returned, leading to volumes cut by about 30%, and “that’s a big deal.” 

With all that the managers and stylists have done to stick with the guidelines, wearing face coverings and spacing clients, receiving a surprise visit from an inspector wouldn’t cause much concern, Taylor said.

The staff expected someone from the health department or the state board would have made a visit by now. 

Others in the salon and barbering trade in Louisville echoed the assertion that their businesses are ahead of the game because of the basic rules stylists and manicurists had to follow prior to the pandemic. 

The Kentucky State Board of Hairdressers & Cosmetologists has made sanitization a focus for barbershops, spas and hair salons, so an inspection for COVID-19 compliance shouldn't be a big deal, added Tiffany Abell, spa manager at Xhale Salon-Spa in downtown Louisville.

With the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, she said, she expected inspections, random or otherwise, on the horizon. “It should be almost a natural state for us.” 

Not all shop owners were thrilled to hear of stepped-up enforcement plans.

“More government oversight is always a concerning thing,” especially considering the possibility of “surprise” visits, said John Webb, co-owner of Germantown's Oak & Swan Barbershop, which opened in September. “But I think we are living in extraordinary times right now.”  

Maintaining Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines has not been that much of a stretch for Webb and his barbers because the shop works with just two barbers in the shop at a time. There's also little space for people to sit inside and congregate.  

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Olivia Griffin, owner of The Limbo — a popular tiki bar and lounge on West Chestnut Street — said stepped-up enforcement poses a risk only for businesses that aren't sticking to the rules. 

"I am not that worried about (random inspections)," Griffin said. "We have been targeted from the beginning, thus have been working hard on being safe from the beginning, versus other types of business not having to worry about the health department until more recently."

Griffin, a member of the Louisville Operating Venues Safely Coalition and the Louisville Responsible Bar and Restaurant Coalition, doesn't see the health department as the enemy — rather an ally in the fight against the virus's spread.

That's why Griffin questions why bars and eateries are seen as a "big source" of the spread. "We have been held to the highest expectations from the beginning, and we have been adhering to them," she said.  

For the most part, Griffin says local bars and restaurants adhere to the city's guidelines, but there will always be outliers who ignore the rules — an annoyance to establishments doing things the right way.

This raises a concern for her: With the city turning its focus to a larger array of businesses, will it have enough manpower to still keep restaurants and bars accountable?

Hart, the inspections chief, said there's no prediction on how many inspections the crew will make in the coming weeks but it's important to get them started. Every ZIP code in Jefferson County is "red" with high rates of COVID-19. 

While "most of our surveillance has been complaint driven," he said, "shifting to a proactive model" should pay off. 

See also:U of L doctor who participated in vaccine trial excited by promising report

Grace Schneider: 502-582-4082; gschneider@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @gesinfk. Andre Toran: atoran@gannett.com; Twitter: @andretoran.