Many Hongkongers rushed to get “a last haircut” on Wednesday before a two-week mandatory closure for all salons and barber shops begins the next day.
Authorities on Tuesday ordered these venues to shut from Thursday to Feb. 23, 2022 as the city faces its worst COVID-19 outbreak.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam also announced that the unvaccinated will be barred from going to salons from Feb. 24, 2022.
On Wednesday, a queue can be seen outside the Sheung Wan outlet of Japanese barber shop chain QB House during lunch hour.
James, who works in the area, complained about the inconvenience caused by the sudden closure.
“I wasn’t planning to get a haircut today, but because of yesterday’s announcement, I had to come and get a quick trim,” he said. “Usually, there are only one or two people before me, but today, there is a long queue of more than 10 people.”
Long lines can also be seen in other parts of the city, including in East Tsim Sha Tsui station.
Separately, some salons are closing later to cope with the sudden increase in bookings on Wednesday.
“Some of our customers really want to get their hair done before the closure, so the salon I work at will open till 11:59pm tonight so we can finish the jobs but not break the law,” said a hairdresser who works in a salon in Central.
