Austrians rush to get haircuts!

Vienna: Austria’s hairdressing salons were among the businesses reopening on Monday as the country’s third virus lockdown eases but a negative Covid test result is now a prerequisite for a visit to the barber.

Schools, shops and museums are also opening for the first time since late December and school pupils also have to be tested twice a week to attend classes. Brisk demand was seen at the various public virus testing stations set up by Vienna city authorities.

Even at the recently installed centre in the city’s famous Schoenbrunn Palace, extra slots had been made available in anticipation of high demand. Welcoming her first clients in weeks, Viennese hairdresser Susanne Schreiber said: "On the one hand I feel relieved that we are able to work again, but on the other hand there is the obstacle of testing, which some customers aren’t taking very well".

Complaints from hairdressers about the new rules have surfaced in the Austrian press, with some pointing out the difficulty of getting tested in rural areas. Neighbouring Slovenia has also brought in mandatory tests for hairdresser visits and similar services but the measure has not been adopted widely in Europe.

Schreiber’s first customer at 9:00 am sharp was a woman who only gave her first name, Martine. She said she was "very, very happy to come back" and was spoiling herself for her 49th birthday. Martine was not fazed by the test requirement. "For me it’s not a problem, because my parents belong to an at-risk group and I always get tested before visiting them anyway," she said.