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New Zealanders welcomed the 51-day closure of their country’s coronavirus on Wednesday at midnight Wednesday, lining up on the street to cut their hair.
Companies that include salons, cafes, restaurants, and shopping malls opened their doors in the first hours after the country dropped to ‘level 2’ of its warning system.
Virtually all companies except bars can now open with some social distancing and PPE measures, while people can freely socialize in groups of up to 10 people.
It comes after the country successfully crushed the infection curve, reporting zero new cases Thursday for the third day in a row. New Zealand has a total of only 1,497 cases and 21 deaths.
As the country adjusted to its ‘new normal’, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern presented a budget that included a record $ 30 billion stimulus to help shoring companies, but warned that it may not be enough to save all jobs.
New Zealanders queued outside the barber shop overnight (left) as the country moved to ‘level 2’ of its coronavirus alert system, meaning that all businesses except bars can reopen with some social distancing and EPP instead
Barbershops were closed 51 days ago in New Zealand, along with much of the economy, to flatten the curve for coronavirus infections, which the country has done now, reporting zero new infections for three consecutive days.
Cathedral Junction Barbers owner Conrad Fitz-Gerald cuts his son Heathcliff’s hair as people queue up just after midnight to get ready in Christchurch, New Zealand
A man waits in line at Cathedral Junction Barbers in Christchurch, New Zealand, to get his hair cut shortly after midnight after almost all businesses were allowed to reopen.
New Zealand is trying to restart its economy after 51 days of closure, with the government unveiling a $ 30 billion stimulus package to help save jobs and businesses
A full beauty salon is seen in Wellington, New Zealand, shortly after midnight, after the country dropped to ‘level 2’ of its coronavirus warning system and almost all companies were allowed to reopen.
New Zealand reported a third consecutive day of zero coronavirus cases on May 13, marking the fifth time in the past 10 days that cases have dropped to nothing (data correct as of May 12)
The massive budget, which includes billions in infrastructure, healthcare, housing, and wage subsidy plans, sets the stage for Ardern’s re-election campaign, as his center-left government seeks to consolidate support ahead of the September poll.
Ardern said the priority was to stop mass unemployment and described the package as a “jobs” budget.
Billions will be spent over a four-year forecast period, and it’s more than any New Zealand government has ever spent on a budget.
“Nothing about this moment in our history is common and shouldn’t be our answer, either,” Ardern told lawmakers in a speech to parliament.
Economic forecasts released with the budget cast a bleak picture for years to come, and unemployment has soared to nearly 10 percent in June from 4 percent today.
Ardern has been widely praised for what is now considered the best-in-class response to the coronavirus, but he must now convince voters that the economic hardships they are about to suffer were worth it.
Thursday was a day of celebration, however, with the country lifting the blockade measures much earlier than other developed nations, as Kiwis celebrated the taste of freedom that it cost so much to gain.
At least three Auckland barbers opened their doors at 12:01 am on Thursday morning to trim a small but enthusiastic group of night customers.
“It feels like freedom,” Auckland man Phillip Harkness told Stuff after being one of the first to receive a post-shutdown cut.
A 17-year-old boy, Corbin Harkness, told The New Zealand Herald that he had been waiting a long time for a haircut.
“I was going to get one the day they closed,” Harkness said.
In addition to hairdressers and barbers, who must wear PPE, restaurants, shops, cinemas, and gyms can now reopen, all with tight rules to ensure social distancing and better hygiene.
Beauty salons were followed later in the day by cafes and restaurants that reopened with groups of up to 10 people who were allowed to socialize inside, without needing to remain in social ‘bubbles’.
Shoppers returned to the streets as retail businesses were allowed to reopen after weeks of forced closings
Groups of people stopped to talk to each other outside this café in Auckland, New Zealand, as the new rules no longer made it necessary to stick to a “bubble” of approved contacts.
A customer gestures as he walks into a store in Christchurch, New Zealand, while customers are welcome
A man enjoys coffee at a coffee shop in Christchurch, New Zealand, with a sign announcing new social distancing measures that will remain in effect even as the country reopens
Despite the reopening of stores, New Zealanders will have to adapt to a ‘new normal’ that will see social distancing measures in the foreseeable future.
A bottle of hand sanitizer sits on a recently reopened restaurant table in Wellington, New Zealand, as the country adjusts to its “new normal” while living with coronavirus.
As the companies reopened, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (center) and Finance Minister Grant Robertson (right) unveiled a new budget that includes a record $ 30 billion stimulus package to try to help save jobs
Many office workers, who have been asked to work from home for the past seven weeks, were also finally allowed to return to their workplaces.
Schools will reopen from next week, as well as bars.
The country’s oldest zoo, the Wellington Zoo, has also opened its doors for the first time since closing, leaving the entrance open until the end of June to encourage visitors to return.
Ms Ardern has credited her ‘five million team’ of New Zealanders for their strong compliance with the blockade that allows for a change.
But the country will still see significant changes in daily life compared to before the outbreak, with parties still banned and gatherings limited to 10 people, except funerals, which can take up to 50.
Social distancing of up to 3 feet within businesses such as restaurants, cafes, and shops is still recommended, while people are cautioned to stay 6 feet away in public.
Transportation networks, including air travel, can expect to see significant changes even in the midst of easing, with signs at airports showing passengers where they can and cannot sit to maintain distance.
Grandparents Sue Eng, John Walter, Jan Walter and Doug Eng are reunited with their eight-month-old grandson Soren Walter, after being unable to see him for two months due to the closure.
Sue Eng plays with her grandson on Thursday after the rules on socializing with vulnerable people were relaxed, with groups of up to 10 allowed, as New Zealand fell to ‘level 2’
Children play in a park after public spaces are largely reopened as the country adjusts to life alongside the coronavirus
People walk the streets of Wellington, New Zealand, after most companies were allowed to reopen, meaning travelers resumed their daily routines
People enter a Bunnings DIY store in Christchurch, New Zealand, which was allowed to reopen with social distance as New Zealand finds its way to a “new normal.”
Shoppers returned to St Lukes Mall in Auckland, New Zealand, after being allowed to reopen on Thursday.
Most retail companies, including shopping malls, have been allowed to reopen at “level 2”, but with established social distance
A social distancing sign is seen at a crosswalk in Auckland, New Zealand, as the country adjusts to its “new normal”
Commuters return to the roads in Wellington, New Zealand, as the country continues to reduce its coronavirus blockade
The easing will allow domestic tourism to skyrocket, with cross-region travel now allowed, but New Zealand is also heavily reliant on foreign visitors, with no sign that international flights are about to resume.
Jim Boult, the mayor of Queenstown, who depends almost entirely on visitor income, welcomed the move to allow travel across the country, but faces an uncertain long-term future for his city.
“Enthusiasm for local travel will bring a much-needed boost to our local economy and the thousands of locals who will benefit from the return to work that this will bring,” Boult said.
New Zealand will now face many of the same difficulties as other countries that have lifted the restrictions or have avoided the blockade entirely – that is, undetected infection groups and importing cases from abroad.
South Korea, also widely praised for its viral response, is currently struggling to contain an outbreak centered around nightclubs in Seoul, which has seen dozens of people test positive for coronavirus and thousands exposed.
Passengers disembark a flight in Christchurch, New Zealand, with domestic travel again permitted under the new rules
Passengers queue up maintaining a social distance of 1m inside the airport in Christchurch, New Zealand, as the country adjusts to its “new normal” while living alongside the coronavirus
Passengers wait to board their flight in Christchurch amid signs showing them where they can and cannot sit to maintain social detachment amid the coronavirus
The reopening of tattoo parlors was also allowed as part of the new guidelines as long as employees wear the proper PPE
Tattoo artist Steve Wood works on a client at the Sacred Tattoo Studio in Kingsland, Auckland, after reopening
The country has confirmed 29 more cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours as it battles a spike related to Seoul’s nightlife.
Additional cases reported by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention brought the national total to 10,991 with 260 deaths. Most of the new cases were people infected locally, while three came from abroad.
The number of cases in South Korea has increased in the past week, with new cases linked to nightclubs in Seoul’s entertainment district Itaewon that threaten South Korea’s progress in containing the virus.
Meanwhile, residential compounds in Wuhan have begun screening residents for the coronavirus as a program to test everyone in the Chinese city of 11 million people in 10 days.
China has been fighting to wipe out groups of cases imported from abroad, but in recent days there have been signs of a new internal infection, suggesting that several cases have gotten out of the safety net.
A complex in the city’s Qiaokou district said hundreds of people had been evaluated since Wednesday. Another complex in the same district said Thursday it was registering residents before it started.
The city ordered local communities to screen everyone after six new cases appeared last weekend, the first infections there in more than a month.
Wuhan, where the virus was first detected last December, was the most affected city in China with 3,869 reported deaths. China reported three new cases nationwide for 82,929 cases in total.
