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Gym owners and personal‑services workers press health commission to let them reopen; advocates push for nursing‑home visits
Summary
Dozens of callers told the Public Health Commission their businesses face collapse under continued limits on indoor personal services and gyms; Dr. Teresa Palmer and advocacy groups urged DPH to allow properly equipped visitors into nursing homes and to revise health order C19‑03.
At the Sept. 1 Public Health Commission meeting, a large block of public commenters addressed the department’s approach to indoor personal services, fitness studios and nursing‑home visitation.
Several owners and representatives of San Francisco’s fitness and personal‑care sectors told the commission that state rules or neighboring counties permit indoor services and said city restrictions have left many small businesses unable to plan for reopening. Dean Erickson of FitBurnell and other coalition members said the city is deviating from state guidance that allows 10 percent indoor occupancy for gyms in the red tier. “Indoor gym and fitness services need to be open per state guidelines,” Erickson said. Callers described updated protocols, reservation systems, enhanced ventilation and contact tracing plans and urged parity with other indoor services such as dental or medical offices.
Owners of salons, cosmetology schools and Pilates studios said outdoor options and curbside service are not feasible for many businesses because of homelessness, weather and the need for specialized equipment. “It makes no scientific sense,” said Didi Crossett, the dean of the San Francisco Institute of Aesthetics and Cosmetology, arguing that cosmetology training and barbershop services can operate safely with existing infection‑control training.
Several callers pressed the commission on nursing‑home visitation policies. Dr. Teresa Palmer said health order C19‑03 prohibits most visitation even when safer outdoor or supervised options exist, and contended that long‑term isolation has harmed residents’ quality of life. “Nursing home patients have now been locked down, isolated from their families for over 5 months,” Palmer said, and asked when the guidance would change.
Director Grant Colfax and staff acknowledged the public comments and said DPH will continue to refine communications and guidance. Colfax said the department is balancing the need to slow community transmission with reopening plans and will coordinate further with city partners and stakeholders about targeted guidance and waiver processes.
Why it matters: The public comment block captured urgent economic distress from the personal‑services sector and continuing community concern about the welfare of nursing‑home residents. Commissioners and DPH staff heard repeated calls for clearer public guidance and for parity with state criteria where possible.
What’s next: DPH officials said they would continue to review state guidance, improve public communications and bring additional details back to the commission as reopening plans and waiver processes evolve.
