Employee at Kingston barbershop operating in violation of state order tests positive for Covid-19

Did you get a clandestine haircut on Broadway in Kingston in the last few weeks? If so, you may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith announced today that a Kingston barber who has been providing haircuts during the last few weeks at a barbershop on Broadway has tested positive this week for the COVID-19 virus. Anyone who has received a haircut in a Kingston barbershop in the last three weeks is urged to promptly contact their primary care physician and seek testing, or contact the Ulster County COVID-19 hotline at (845) 443-8888.

County officials did not immediately respond to an inquiry asking the name of the barbershop and whether the business was fined for operating in violation of state restrictions.

During the ongoing New York Pause directives from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, no barbershops, beauty salons, nail salons or other personal hygiene services are allowed to be open and operating for fear of spreading the potentially deadly virus.

“We are taking extraordinary measures to try and minimize the spread of this dangerous disease and learning that a barbershop has been operating illicitly for weeks with a COVID-19 positive employee is extraordinarily disheartening,” said Dr. Smith. “As much as we would all like to go out and get a professional haircut, this kind of direct contact has the potential to dramatically spread this virus throughout our community and beyond. I urge anyone who has received a haircut at a Kingston barber in the last several weeks to immediately contact their physician or call our hotline to arrange for a diagnostic test.”