Bungee jumps and midnight haircuts to mark New Zealand's exit from coronavirus lockdown

A man has his beard trimmed at a barber in Christchurch. New Zealand lifted most of its remaining lockdown restrictions from midnight Wednesday as the country prepares for a new normal. Picture: Mark Baker/AP

A man has his beard trimmed at a barber in Christchurch. New Zealand lifted most of its remaining lockdown restrictions from midnight Wednesday as the country prepares for a new normal. Picture: Mark Baker/AP

Published May 14, 2020

Share

Sydney/Wellington - After seven weeks

trussed up with some of the world's toughest coronavirus curbs,

New Zealanders like Jim Boult leapt at the chance to cheer the

end of the country's lockdown on Thursday - literally in his

case, with a bungee jump.

As the mayor of South Island adventure tourism resort

Queenstown, Boult's vault off Kawarau Bridge was as much a move

for TV cameras to attract visitor attention as an act of sheer

exuberance. But the sense of relief at the prospect of a return

to some kind of normality was shared across the country.

In Auckland, residents queued from midnight at barber shops

and salons for their first chance of a professional hairdo in

nearly two months, according to local media reports. In

Wellington, families strolled along the waterfront, while others

waited at stores set to reopen with safety measures in place.

"It's been an onslaught of people booking in so we're flat

out for the next two three weeks," Ali Kamaruddin, a barbershop

owner in northern coastal city Tauranga, told state broadcaster

TVNZ. "We're expecting everything, long hair, home haircuts, big

stuff."

     

While dramatically reducing the spread of the disease, some

of the stricter social distancing restrictions worldwide

delivered a big economic hit to New Zealand's $200 billion

economy, which is dependent on trade and tourism.

The country had fewer than 1,497 confirmed cases and fewer

than 90 people are still sick. It reported extensive testing and

no new cases for the third consecutive day on Thursday, and only

21 people have died.

Restrictions were eased by a notch in late April, but

Thursday's further easing to 'level 2' in the Pacific nation's

scale of alert allows for retail, restaurants and other public

spaces including playgrounds to reopen.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern addresses a press conference at Parliament in Wellington. Picture: Hagen Hopkins/Pool Photo via AP

Traffic returned to the country's roads and office towers

filled up with employees returning after weeks of working from

home. Schools only open next week but offices were allowed to

start on Thursday.

New Zealanders are allowed to travel between regions,

students will be able to return to school from Monday, while

bars will reopen from May 21. Social gatherings, including for

weddings and other religions ceremonies, are to be limited to 10

people.

Back in Queenstown, Boult embraced the prospect of

now-permitted domestic tourism.

"Enthusiasm for local travel will bring a much-needed boost

to our local economy and the thousands of locals that will

benefit from the return to work this will deliver," said Boult.

Reuters

Related Topics: