At any other time, showing up to a business in a mask might make them think you were there to rob the place. These days, you’d be called considerate.
A 3-phase plan to reopen the economy was officially announced by Governor Stitt earlier last week, and Sapulpa Mayor Pro Tem Lou Martin, Jr. confirmed that the City of Sapulpa would be adhering to that same plan and timeline, and within 24 hours, had a revision of the city’s proclamation to bring it into alignment with Stitt’s plan.
Martin says it’s important that the city follows the same plan as the Governor to prevent confusion among the citizens. “Tulsa and Oklahoma City have said they’re going to do their own phased rollout, and I think you’re going to get folks confused about ‘why can I do this here and not do it there,’ he says. “We all came into this together, and we’re going to get through it together.”
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum announced on Friday that Tulsa would continue to shelter in place until April 30th. “The White House recommends 14 days of declining test cases before initiating the first phase of rollbacks. According to the Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oklahoma meets that benchmark,” Bynum said in a press conference, as reported by Tulsa World.
There was some terminology in the city’s State of Emergency proclamation that says that Sapulpa’s Stay-At-Home order would be in effect from 11:59 PM on April 2nd to 7:00 PM on May the 4th, or until Governor Stitt terminates the state of emergency for Oklahoma, whichever comes later. The Fourth Proclamation released on Thursday, April 23rd adjusted that timeline to Friday, April 24th to the time of termination by Governor Stitt, but also provided that the proclamation could be repealed, amended or extended prior to said date and time if assessment of the pandemic so warrants.
Among the first group of businesses able to reopen are barbershops and hair salons, which are allowed to open by appointment only. Gary Bond, who owns Studio One Salon on Dewey, said the response has been a welcome relief to the drought he was facing just the week before. “We’ve had our phones ringing off the hook, and we had at least 50 people call today, who aren’t even regular customers,” Bond said.
Red Pippin, of Little Red’s Salon, told KTUL earlier last week that she was on the brink of having to make a choice on whether to pay her mortgage or her rent payment for her shop. By Friday, she was having a different kind of problem: too much work. “I spaced people out and gave myself 30 minutes…to clean and just sit for a min(ute).”
The next phase of openings will begin on May 1st if new Coronavirus cases continue to decline and will affect restaurants, movie theatres, gyms, and more. Stay updated at sapulpatimes.com
