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Missouri Great Clips where 2 stylists worked while infected with coronavirus closes after threats

More than 100 customers in Springfield, Missouri, were potentially exposed by the stylists who worked while infected.
Image: The Great Clips hair salon in Springfield, Mo., on May 22, 2020. A stylist who tested positive for coronavirus worked at the salon for over a week.
The Great Clips hair salon in Springfield, Mo., on May 22, 2020. A stylist who tested positive for coronavirus worked at the salon for over a week.Nathan Papes / Springfield News-Leader via Reuters

Great Clips salons in Springfield, Missouri, have temporarily closed because of "repeated threats" that came after two stylists worked while infected with the coronavirus, potentially exposing more than a hundred customers, the company and police said.

Great Clips Inc. said in a statement that salons in the Springfield area were closed because of threats it received Wednesday, but it did not disclose the nature of the threats.

On Saturday, the Springfield-Greene County Health Department announced that a second stylist at a single location tested positive and that 140 customers had potentially been exposed.

"To protect the safety of everyone, the local franchisees made the decision to temporarily close salons in the Springfield area. They are working closely with law enforcement officials as the officials conduct a thorough investigation of these threats," Great Clips Inc. said in a statement.

So far, the second stylist is the only person who has tested positive in connection with the case.

The health department said Thursday that 42 clients have since tested negative.

An email to a Springfield police spokesperson about the nature of the threats was not immediately returned Thursday night.

But Springfield police spokeswoman Jasmine Bailey told The Associated Press that the first threat came from a Facebook message to an employee on Saturday. The second threat was phoned to a salon Wednesday.

Bailey said that in both cases, the messages “were threatening to shut the place down” because the stylists potentially exposed people to the virus.

The first stylist's positive result was announced by health officials Friday, and they said the stylist worked for eight days while experiencing symptoms.

The positive test for the second stylist, at the same location, was announced by the health department Saturday.

Both stylists and the customers were wearing masks, the health department has said.

Missouri hair salons and barbershops have been allowed to reopen after they and other nonessential businesses were ordered closed under a statewide stay-at-home order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

It was not clear when the Springfield area Great Clips salons may reopen.