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Philip Harkness and his sons were some of the first Kiwis to get their lockdown locks chopped as the clock struck 12.01am on Thursday.
Barbershop & Co, Bob the Barber and B & M Barbers, all located in the suburb of Birkenhead on Auckland’s North Shore, opened their doors for business for the first time in seven weeks as soon as the country moved into alert level 2.
The barbershops even hired security guards to deal with anticipated crowds.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that hairdressers, restaurants and most retailers could start operating again from midnight on May 14, when the country would move to alert level 2.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Barbershop & Co in Birkenhead opened at 12:01 am for alert level 2 haircuts.
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Birkenhead Village Town Center Association organized for barbershops in the area to open as soon as possible after the association’s manager Kae Condon heard from several residents desperate to get a hair cut.
Condon said she hoped more than 100 customers would turn up for hair cuts overnight, but they had taken precautions in case there were much larger crowds.
“We’ve prepared for queues. We’ve got cones, flags and [security] tape so that we can cope if we have large numbers and we also have security on in case it becomes larger we expected. “
Birkenhead resident Philip Harkness and his sons Logan and Corbin got their hair cut at Barbershop & Co.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Philip Harkness gets his hair cut at Barbershop & Co.
“It feels like freedom,” Harkness said.
After several long weeks stuck in lockdown, Harkness said he could finally get his haircut and thought “why not” do it at 12.01am.
He said the barbershop wasn’t far for him to travel to and his sons needed haircuts, given they are headed back to school on Monday.
Police were seen in the area, speaking to the public about what they were doing.
Ricky Wilson / Stuff
Police speak to members of the public near the barbershops.
The barbershops worked until at least 3am, but said they would continue through the wee hours if there were still customers waiting.
The barbers wore masks and had gloves on hand if customers prefer for them to wear them.
The business association had been advised by health authorities that because they were keeping a record of who came in and were contact tracing, customers would only have to keep 1m away from each other.
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Bob Singh outside his Birkenhead shop. I’ve been barbering in the area for more than 20 years.
However, Condon said they were erring on the side of caution and ensuring customers keep 2m apart in the queue, by marking out the distance in tape on the footpath.
Chairs inside the shops had also been spaced more than 1m apart.
To ensure the barbers were not overworked, two other barber shops opened at 6am and two more at 8am.
Supplied
Kae Condon of the Birkenhead Village Town Center Association and Tomi Cvetanovski of Barbershop Co prepare for the reopening of the shopping precinct.
Tomi Cvetanovski, from The Barber Shop Co, said he was excited to start seeing customers.
His phone had been ringing off the hook on Wednesday with people wanting to book appointments for the coming days.
“This is really good for every one of us coming back to work. We’ve definitely missed it. I’m super excited. Can’t wait to start back, Cvetanovski said.
Barbershop & Co is located at 80 Mokoia Rd, B & M Barbers is at 202 Hinemoa St and Barbershop & Co is at 1 Birkenhead Ave.
