BOZEMAN — Gallatin County Board of Health is updating current Covid-19 concerns, the situation across the area, proposing adding “personal care businesses” like barbershops to close due to increasing concerns.
In a meeting Thursday morning, the motion passed with only one opposing to amend the emergency rule, including barbershops, salons, tanning salons, and other personal care businesses.
It goes into effect tonight at 9 p.m.
The board, namely Matt Kelley, discussed the evidence of community contact, as a “significant number of cases did not have any history of travel,” and more discussion was done on contact tracing efforts to control and slow down the spread of the disease.
Excluded from this rule, for now, are physical therapy facilities and essential chiropractic practitioners.
Museums are also in the list of businesses to close as part of the rule, but many already have closed to the public.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
UPDATE: 3/26/2020 - 11:05 A.M. - PRESS RELEASE FROM BOARD:
Gallatin City-County Board of Health Adopts Revisions of Emergency Rule
At today’s meeting of the Gallatin City-County Board of Health the board adopted an amended emergency rule updating the emergency rule that was created on March 18, 2020.
The amendments include:
● Extending the emergency rule with the amendments to April 17, 2020
● An amendment to bring the current emergency rule into harmony with Governor Steve Bullock’s directive on March 20, 2020.
● An amendment to add restrictions prohibiting operation of personal care establishments such as salons, nail studios, barbershops, tanning salons, beauty parlors, and body art establishments (like tattoo and piercing parlors)
● An amendment to add restrictions on regular services or other routine gatherings at houses of worship unless the purpose of the gathering is related to assisting in the response, such as the provision of day care services.
● An amendment to add restrictions to the list of places closed to closed to ingress, egress, use and occupancy by members of the public to include museums
● An amendment to add a restriction, effective on March 26 at 9:00 PM, that non-essential and recreational gatherings of individuals outside of a home or place of residence greater than 10 people are prohibited immediately if a distance of at least six feet between individuals cannot be maintained.
Gallatin City-County Board of Health Chair Becky Franks says of amended emergency rule, “This is not easy. None of this is easy. This is a pandemic that none of us have seen before in our lives. It's something that has come to our doors and as a board we need to be able to manage and try to maintain the health and safety of our public. The Gallatin City-County Health Department Call Center is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
