People across Scotland can now get a haircut, click and collect shopping is allowed and garden centres can welcome back customers as a raft of Covid restrictions are lifted today.
It comes after the stay-at-home order was relaxed, allowing people to travel locally for non-essential purposes.
The reopening of hairdressers and barbers as well as retail premises is the first major step out of lockdown.
Other measures to go include the resumption of in-person teaching, and outdoor sport can also start again for 12-to-17-year-olds.
Sovereign Grooming, based on Aberdeen’s Union Street, has had more than 700 bookings this month from people keen to get their first professional cut of 2020.
Kyle Ross, managing director, said staff “can’t wait” to get back to cutting hair and also laid out their safety measures.
He said: “We’re well prepared for reopening, having been through the drill last July after the first lockdown.
“This time, we also have the benefit of new booking technology that checks in with clients before their appointment to make sure they’re not displaying any symptoms.
“We’ve undertaken a thorough review of our salon and are in the process of rearranging the space to adhere to social distancing guidelines, including the erection of clear screens between the stations.
“We have reviewed the services we offer and will be removing those we feel are too difficult to deliver safely under the current restrictions. This means that many of the male image treatments we offer will be temporarily suspended, including beard services.”
In the north, Alison McRitchie, salon director at The Head Gardener in Inverness, said: “All the team are really excited to be reopening. They just want to get back and see each other and see the clients.
“Everyone wants to get back to a slightly more normal working environment. As the lockdown has been over winter it’s been a bit of a slog.
“We are busy for the foreseeable future, but it will soon settle down and we will get back into a rhythm again.”
She said staff will work in two shifts to meet restrictions, but they do not expect to deal with as many bad home cuts as after the last lockdown, saying: “I don’t think it will be as bad as last time. I think people learned the hard way.”
Ms McRitchie said the second lockdown has also given businesses time to consider their future.
“Personally I have re-prioritised and will change the way I’m going to work.
“When I came back last time I was working an 80-hour week but I’m not going to do that this time
“Like many businesses during this time you have had more time to reflect and decide on your priorities moving forward.”
‘A garden centre without the customers is a pretty lonely place’
Retailers like garden centres, key cutting shops, baby equipment stores, homeware shops and vehicle showrooms can welcome back customers too.
The Ben Reid garden centre in Aberdeen found it hard during lockdown as they had furloughed some staff.
The Countesswells Road retailer was given government support last year and hopes for more.
It launched an online ordering and collection system that enabled the business to achieve 30% of its normal turnover.
The webshop and collection service was closed on Thursday amid preparations to reopen the centre.
Simon Fraser, its managing director, said: “A garden centre without the customers is a pretty lonely place.
“It’s very hard to sell plants without physically seeing them, you know, how big they are, how wide they are, what colour they are.
“That’s what the customer wants to see, so we’re just excited to get the whole team back on board and get the garden centre full of customers again.”
Although some face-to-face teaching can resume, Aberdeen University, Robert Gordon University and North East College Scotland will opt for a largely remote classroom set up.
Aberdeen University said classes for undergraduate students this term will be online although some postgraduate students can return to campus in the summer.
