More local businesses reopened Friday as the state continued to meet benchmarks in the Governor’s Open Up and Recover Safely plan and local regulations also were eased.

“Many parts of our state started to safely and responsibly reopen April 24,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a press briefing last week.

Those included personal services such as hair and nail salons and barbershops, which were allowed to reopen as long as they implemented appropriate cleansing and disinfecting protocols and followed social distancing guidelines.

“When we announced the Open Up and Recover Safely plan, we made it clear that we will make decisions based on the data here in our state. The data continues to show we can safely proceed with Phase 1 of our plan starting this Friday, May 1.”

Kingfisher City Commission met in special session Wednesday to revise its emergency declaration to comply with the state plan of phased in reopening of offices and businesses.

City Hall will remain closed until Phase 2 of the governor’s plan, which begins May 15, providing benchmarks continue to be met.

“We’re just trying to remind people that reopening is voluntary, both for the businesses and for their customers,” City Manager Dave Slezickey said. “We’re taking it one day at a time, but we think the state has a doable plan.” Businesses allowed to reopen this past Friday include restaurant dining areas, gyms and sporting and entertainment venues.

Specific sanitation and social distancing guidelines for each business are outlined on the Oklahoma Department of Commerce website.

In Kingfisher, most restaurants reopened their dining areas, but with reduced capacities to provide adequate distance between groups of diners.

Some restaurants also are conducting temperature checks at the front door, which is recommended but not required by state guidelines.

Kingfisher Athletic Loft returned to 24-hour operation Friday after a month of deep cleaning, owners announced on Facebook.

Additional hand and equipment sanitation stations have been installed throughout the facility for use by gym patrons.

Although allowed to reopen, 89er Theatre will not do so until later in May or possibly in June, due to the lack of available movies.

Churches also are now permitted to resume in-person church services, as long as enough space is provided between families to meet distance requirements.

Some churches are continuing virtual services for the time being.

While the state plan allows museums and cultural centers to open starting May 1, the Chisholm Trail Museum and other sites operated by the Oklahoma Historical Society will remain closed through May 31, according to the museum’s Facebook page.

Meanwhile, the museum continues to offer distance activities and enrichment projects via social media.

The governor reiterated that, under current White House guidelines, Oklahoma continues to meet all necessary criteria to begin proceeding to a phased opening, including a downward trajectory of documented cases and the ability to treat all patients without crisis care.

“Our hospitalizations continue to decrease. When we announced our surge plan on April 10, we were expecting to need 1,100 hospital beds at the peak but prepared more than 4,600 beds to stay proactive. Because Oklahomans did such a good job of social distancing, working from home and making sacrifices to flatten the curve, our hospitalizations peaked at 560 back on March 30 and have gone down the entire month of April,” Stitt said.