KINGSTON – 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, Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith said Wednesday.
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.
During the ongoing New York Pause directives from Governor 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.”
There are currently 1,533 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ulster County and 62 fatalities.
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