It’s really difficult to criticize Gov. Mike DeWine, who most Ohioans agree has been an amazing leader throughout the pandemic.

But the Republican needs to quickly rethink parts of his initial plan to reopen the economy, announced Monday.

There’s absolutely no reason for barbers, hair dressers and restaurant servers to be last in line to go back to work. They don't even have the hope of a return date, which many others now have under the first phase of DeWine's plan.

These folks have been without a paycheck for six weeks, and they need the work more than most others.

And most Ohioans need them more than they need, say, a teeth cleaning or knee replacement surgery. (My dentist and orthopedic surgeon say I need both. But I need a haircut first, and my barber needs the extra-large tip for mowing down the forest on top of my head.)

Hospitals, clinics and dentist offices can resume outpatient procedures on Friday. Manufacturing, construction and corporate offices will then be allowed to reopen on Monday. Then retail stores can reopen, but not until May 12.

No dates yet for reopening restaurant dining rooms, barbershops and beauty salons.

It seems like the governor has it all backwards.

If government officials were so worried about the medical facilities being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, wouldn't it make sense to restart the outpatient procedures last? Open up other industries first, make sure there's no significant uptick in coronavirus-related hospitalizations and then resume all the other medical procedures.

Most industries have been affected by the pandemic. Many doctors and dentists have taken a financial haircut, because non-emergency procedures have been put on hold to keep the medical equipment and personnel readily available in case there was a surge in coronavirus-related hospitalizations.

But top medical practitioners should be in better position to withstand the financial hit than those who cut hair at Renners in Hartwell and sell shoes at Macy's in Tri-County Mall. And yet those devastated the most by the economic shutdown either remain in limbo or have to wait another two weeks to go back to work.

My dentist can put on a mask and stick her gloved fingers in my funky mouth, but my barber can't wear a mask and latex gloves and cut my greasy mop from an arm's length away?

You can go to the local liquor store and come face-to-face with the sales clerk while buying a bottle of booze and a pack of smokes. But you can't go sit down at Zip's and enjoy a burger.

It makes no sense.

I can hear my Uncle Mike Williams cussing from the grave over this. The feisty Navy veteran was a go-to barber in my little Southeast Ohio hometown of Gallipolis. Uncle Mike's employees and customers were everything to him. They were family. It's that way for most barbers.

I know there are barbers in small towns and big-city neighborhoods across this great state who are fed up. They're tired of telling their struggling employees "sorry, there's nothing I can do about it" and their customers to "hang in there."

My barbershop has five chairs, all properly distanced around a large room. They could easily use three or four of those chairs at a time, by appointment-only. Meanwhile, restaurants could distance their tables and limit the number of diners. Reservations-only, which many of them do anyway.

DeWine said it'd be "totally irresponsible" to reopen everything on May 1. Agreed.

But what does allowing Beacon Orthopaedics to resume sawing bones at its Western Hills clinic have to do with whether Billy's Barber Shop in Norwood can start cutting hair again? The doctors and barbers could go back to work at the same time. A couple days later, the servers and the officers workers.

DeWine has a tough job. He has Dr. Amy Acton on one side telling him to be overly careful. He has Lt. Gov. Jon Husted and other top Republican leaders on the other telling him to get the economy going ASAP.

In fact, there's a growing rift between DeWine and House Republicans that could come to a head when lawmakers return to Columbus next week. There's a "tremendous amount of frustration" among House Republicans with the administration, Speaker Larry Householder said on Monday.

"As long as small retailers continue to be shut down while national chains are allowed to remain open," Householder said, "government is assisting in the demise of many great small businesses."

Meanwhile, everyday Ohioans like you and me are quietly running out of patience.

No sensible Ohioan is asking for DeWine to allow for large gatherings to resume. It's good that he's keeping movie theaters closed and not allowing for graduations and concerts right now.

But for goodness sake, let us all go get a damn haircut.

Catch political columnist Jason Williams hosting on 700 WLW on Saturdays from 9 p.m. to midnight. For more Politics Extra columns, click here. Email: jwilliams@enquirer.com