Many public places require or encourage social distancing and wearing face masks. Thankfully, that was the case at one hair salon in Missouri.

The Great Clips salon has taken multiple safety measures during the pandemic. They require employees and clients to wear face masks at the salon. They also spaced out the salon chairs to make social distancing easy to do. In addition, they require customers to have appointments for any services at the salon, and they keep detailed records about who is at the salon when and who they came into contact with.

Their efforts paid off. 

It turns out that two of the stylists tested positive for COVID-19. These stylists were not asymptomatic. They actually had symptoms of the novel coronavirus while they were working, yet they kept working for 8 days. In that time, the stylists worked with a combined total of 140 clients and came into contact with 7 of their co-workers. 

The clients and co-workers who were exposed to the contagious co-workers were easy to identify and notify thanks to the detailed records the salon kept. Of these 147 people, 46 chose to get tested for COVID-19. Everyone else was quarantined for 14 days. More than 14 days have passed, and not one person has tested positive for COVID-19 or developed any symptoms.

That’s right; nobody else got sick!

Clay Goddard, the county’s director of health, told CNN, “This is exciting news about the value of masking to prevent Covid-19.”

According to a study published in the Lancet medical journal, when people wear face masks, the chance of getting COVID-19 is only 3.1%; however, without a face mask, that number rises to 17.4%.

Great Clips made the following statement regarding this situation.

“Today, we learned from the Springfield-Greene County Health Department that all customers who were tested for COVID-19 after visiting a franchised Great Clips salon in Springfield have confirmed negative test results. Together with our 1,100 independent franchisees, we care deeply about the well-being of customers, salon staff and the communities we serve, and we are grateful for the health of these individuals. We thank the health department for their important work during this time.”

Obviously, it is not a good idea for anyone to work while they are sick, especially if they are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, yet the situation at Great Clips provides hope and shows the importance of wearing face masks and practicing physical distancing.

Does it surprise you that none of the clients or co-workers got COVID-19 from the 2 hair stylists?