New York barber who opened early tests positive for coronavirus

An upstate New York barber has been tested positive for the disease despite the state’s coronavirus control over the past few weeks, health officials said Wednesday.

The victim was running a barber shop on Broadway in Kingston, Ulster County Health Commissioner Dr. Carol Smith The Daily told Freeman.

Smith did not identify the sick barber or barber shop, but according to the report, there are at least four barber shops on Broadway.

“It is extraordinarily sad to learn that a barber shop has been operating illegally with COVID-19-positive employees for several weeks,” Smith told the newspaper in a statement.

Andrew Cuomo has been banned from operating statewide barber shops since March 22, when he implemented drastic measures to shut down all non-essential businesses.

“We all want to go out and get a professional haircut. This kind of direct contact has the potential to spread this virus dramatically to our community and beyond,” Smith said.

The District Health Commissioner has asked anyone who has had a haircut in Kingston for the past three weeks to contact their doctors and test for the virus.