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.