Hairdressers open again as lockdown measures relax

Today the lockdown relaxations the government announced last week will take effect. This means that hairdressers and most other contact professions can reopen, non-essential stores can open for shopping by appointment, and young people up to the age of 27 can exercise and play sports together.

The only contact profession that can't reopen today is sex work. At hair dressers and beauty salons the phones have been ringing off the hook and in many places the waiting time for an appointment has increased to several weeks. Alternative healers like osteopaths, chiropractors, and acupuncturists can also get back to work from today. They fall under contact professions. 

Non-essential stores can open for customers again today, but only by appointment that must be made at least four hours in advance. There can only be two customers per floor, and each time slot must last at least 10 minutes. For many large stores, these conditions make it not worth it to reopen. 

Young people up to the age of 27 are allowed to exercise outside in groups and teams from today. Previously this was only allowed for children and teenagers up to 17 years old. 

Driving schools can also resume giving driving lessens from today. Over 600 thousand driving tests have been postponed due to the lockdown, according to RTL Nieuws. About 5,500 driving tests are scheduled for this week, but driver's license center CBR expects that many candidates will postpone because they haven't been able to take lessons since December.