Coronavirus has shuttered businesses across Alabama. And whether a business is open or closed all depends on whether it has been deemed “essential” or “non-essential.” 

Those are not terms Dr. Scott Harris, state health officer, is entirely comfortable with.  “It is in a way somewhat of a decision that creates winners and losers in a sense,” Harris said Friday when announcing all “non-essential” businesses in the state must close until April 18 due to the spread of coronavirus.

In determining what was essential vs. non-essential, Harris said Alabama looked at what other states were doing and examined businesses where close contact meant transmission was more likely to occur.  Non-essential businesses that are closed are divided into four categories: entertainment venues; athletic facilities and activities; close contact service providers; and retail stores.

Under those headings, the closures are:

Entertainment venues

• nightclubs
• bowling alleys
• arcades
• concert venues
• theaters
• auditoriums and performing arts centers
• tourist attractions including museums and planetariums
• racetracks
• indoor children’s play areas
• adult entertainment venues
• casinos
• bingo halls
• venues operated by social clubs

Athletic facilities and activities

• fitness centers and commercial gyms
• spas and public or commercial swimming pools
• yoga, barre and spin facilities
• spectator sports
• sports that involve interaction with another person of closer than six feet
• activities that require the use of shared sporting apparatus and equipment
• activities on commercial or public playground equipment

Close contact service providers:

• barbershops
• hair salons
• waxing salons
• threading salons
• nail salons and spas
• body art facilities and tattoo services
• tanning salons
• massage therapy establishments and massage services

Retail stores:

• furniture and home furnishing stores
• clothing, shoes, and clothing accessory stores
• jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores
• department stores
• sporting goods stores
• books, craft, and music stores

If a business or service isn’t on that list, they can stay open but must do all it can to maintain social distancing. Non-essential closed businesses can also follow restaurants and offer curbside pick-up, as long as the store itself remains closed to the public.

What’s open?

The following is a non-inclusive list of what remains open”

• Gun stores
• Liquor stores, including state-owned ABC liquor stores
• Restaurant take-out, curbside, drive-thru or delivery
• Grocery stores, including chains such as Walmart and Target
• Hospitals and clinics, though most elective procedures have been canceled. Dentist offices are closed for non-emergency procedures.
• Physical therapists and chiropractors are open but under restrictions that they are treating an emergency medical condition; are necessary for a patient to avoid serious harm from an underlying condition; or are a necessary part of a patient’s ongoing and active treatment.
• Pharmacies
• Gas stations
• First responders
• Construction projects
• Utilities, including trash pickup
• Financial institutions, though most banks have gone to drive-thru only or service through appointment.
• Funeral homes, though some have limitations
• Hardware stores
• Technology stores
• Parks are open but playground equipment are off limits

(AL.COM/www.al.com)