New York Barber Contracted Coronavirus After Defying Shutdown Orders

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If the current pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that some people would risk dying (or endangering others) just to get a damn haircut.

A barber in Kingston, New York — only 90 miles from New York City — ended up contracting the coronavirus while defying Stay-At-Home orders and cutting hair. According to reports from CNN, health officials in Ulster County are currently looking for anyone who may have come in contact with the barber in the past three weeks.

As of this weekend, there were 1,563 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 64 fatalities in Ulster County. In an effort to combat the spread of the virus, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has not allowed barbershops, beauty salons, nail salons, or other personal hygiene services to remain open during this time. Still, some people are finding a way to run their businesses,

“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,” Dr. Carol Smith, the health commissioner of Ulster County, said in a statement.

Now, the Ulster County authorities want to test anyone who may have visited the barber.