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Philip Harkness and his sons were some of the first kiwis to cut their locks when the clock struck 12:01 on Thursday morning.
Barbershop & Co, Bob the Barber and B & M Barbers, all located in the Birkenhead suburb on Auckland’s north shore, opened for the first time in seven weeks as the country went to Alert Level 2.
Hairdressers even hired security guards to deal with the anticipated crowds.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced Monday that hairdressers, restaurants and most retailers could start operating again from midnight on May 14, when the country would go to alert level 2.
Ricky Wilson / Things
Barbershop & Co in Birkenhead opened at 12:01 am for Alert Level 2 haircuts.
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The Birkenhead Village Town Center Association arranged for area barbershops to open as soon as possible after the association’s manager, Kae Condon, heard from several residents desperate to get their hair cut.
Condon said he expected more than 100 clients to show up for haircuts overnight, but that they had taken precautions in case there were much larger crowds.
“We have prepared for the queues. We have cones, flags and [security] tape so that we can cope if we have large numbers and we also have security in case it is larger than we expected. “
Birkenhead resident Philip Harkness and his sons Logan and Corbin got their hair cut at Barbershop & Co.
Ricky Wilson / Things
Philip Harkness cuts his hair at Barbershop & Co.
“It feels like freedom,” said Harkness.
After several weeks trapped in the running of the bulls, Harkness said he could finally cut his hair and thought “why not” do it at 12:01 a.m.
He said the barbershop was not far away for him to travel and that his children needed haircuts since they will return to school on Monday.
Police were seen in the area, talking to the public about what they were doing.
Ricky Wilson / Things
Police talk to members of the public near hair salons.
The hairdressers worked until at least 3 in the morning, but said they would continue until the wee hours of the morning if there were still customers waiting.
Hairdressers wore masks and had gloves on hand if clients preferred to be worn.
Health authorities had informed the business association that since they kept track of who entered and tracked contacts, customers would only have to stay 1 meter away.
Supplied
Bob Singh outside his Birkenhead store. He has been barking in the area for over 20 years.
However, Condon said they were erring on the side of caution and were making sure that customers were kept 2m apart in the queue, marking the tape distance on the trail.
The chairs inside the tents were also more than 1m apart.
To ensure the barbers weren’t working too hard, two other barbershops opened at 6 a.m. and two more at 8 a.m.
Supplied
Kae Condon of the Birkenhead Village Town Center Association and Tomi Cvetanovski of Barbershop Co are preparing for the reopening of the commercial venue.
Tomi Cvetanovski of The Barber Shop Co said he was excited to start seeing customers.
Her phone had been ringing Wednesday with people who wanted to book appointments for the next few days.
“This is really good for each of us who return to work. We have definitely missed him. I am very excited. I cannot wait to start again,” said Cvetanovski.
Barbershop & Co is located at 80 Mokoia Rd, B & M Barbers is at 202 Hinemoa St and Barbershop & Co is at 1 Birkenhead Ave.
