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WELLINGTON: New Zealanders mingled with friends and arrived at shopping malls for the first time in seven weeks on Thursday (May 14) when the national shutdown ended and companies faced a “new normal” that minimizes the constant threat of coronavirus.
A long-awaited haircut was the top priority for many kiwis after nearly two months of isolation, with lines of tangled customers forming barbers before dawn.
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Reopening of retailers, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, cafes, gyms, and playgrounds was allowed to reopen after the government relaxed COVID-19 restrictions.
The blockade was one of the strictest in the world and helped New Zealand become one of the most successful countries to contain the epidemic.
Thursday’s changes, which put New Zealand at Level Two on its four-level alert system, also allow Kiwis to break their quarantine “bubble” and reunite with wider friends and family.
Thursday’s changes allow kiwis to break their quarantine “bubble” and meet wider friends and family AFP / Marty MELVILLE
“People are looking to get back to normal and being at Level Two will allow everyone to function at least to some degree,” retailer Mike Leigh told AFP.
READ: From South Korea to Germany, new outbreaks as countries ease COVID-19 blocks
Once again, the streets of downtown Wellington were jammed with traffic, although the usual crush on commuter trains in the capital was non-existent.
Instead, the red and green stickers were taped to the seats, indicating where passengers could sit while still maintaining social distance.
The red and green stickers were taped to the commuter train seats, indicating where passengers could sit while still maintaining social distance. AFP / Marty MELVILLE
The city’s main railroad station smelled strongly of disinfectant as cleaners scrubbed and scrubbed between every stream of office workers.
Outside of the station, Leigh was standing at a makeshift stall selling brightly colored masks for NZ $ 15 ($ 9) each.
A carpenter by profession, he has not worked his usual job since the shutdown began and detected a gap in the market for face masks, which were rarely used in New Zealand prior to the pandemic.
“It’s been pretty good, I’ve sold about eight or 10 of them this morning, my wife makes them,” he said, adding that “we’ll probably have to get a website.”
“NOT OUT OF THE WOODS”
At the Queensgate suburban mall, there was added security to ensure crowds didn’t congregate too close before retailers raised their blinds for the first time since late March.
Stores prominently displayed the maximum number of customers allowed inside along with signs proclaiming “one inside, one outside.”
New Zealand, with a population of five million, has recorded only 21 coronavirus deaths and kept new cases in unique numbers for the past month.
READ: New Zealand Registers 3 New COVID-19 Cases Before Restrictions Reduction Decision
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she hoped to catch up with her family face to face.
“I really want to give my sister a hug. I haven’t seen her in a couple of months because I haven’t been home,” she said earlier this week.
But authorities have warned that there is no room for complacency and companies of all kinds should use log books to record customer details in the event of an outbreak.
There are also strict protocols surrounding the use of personal protective equipment and disinfectants that are likely to remain in place for the long term.
“It is not difficult, it is more a matter of not forgetting that I have to do it after each client,” said Wellington barber Dali Toma, cleaning his chair.
Reopening of retailers, restaurants, shopping malls, cinemas, cafes, gyms, and playgrounds was allowed after the government relaxed COVID-19 AFP / Marty MELVILLE restrictions
Restorer Stephen Morris said the way his Avida Mediterranean restaurant operated had fundamentally changed.
Capacity has been reduced by more than a third to 92, with tables removed to allow more space between customers, and staff numbers and opening hours are reduced.
Morris was concerned about the increase in business as people celebrating the end of the blockade could be followed by a slowdown as the economic impact of the pandemic sank.
“We are very much the CBD group, but how many office blocks will be full?” he said.
“If they are working from home, suddenly we are not filling up … we are not yet out of the woods yet.”
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