Canberra lockdown ends and life comes back to quiet Canberra streets

At Dom's Barber in Dickson the doors were open at 7am and the line was already formed before the clippers were even switched on.

Paul Hartigan from Ainslie said he was so unkept after nine weeks of being locked up people had started crossing the street when they saw him.

His last haircut had been from his wife, he said.

"It was horrible," Mr Hartigan said. "I looked like a mad man."

Ricky and Emily Cole from Reid took their first steps on the ACT's pathway forward with breakfast at Edgar's, busy with takeaway orders and a few dining in for the first time.

Restaurateurs themselves, the couple had taken the morning off before welcoming diners back into their Campbell pizzeria from Friday night.

How did it feel to get out for breakfast first?

"So good!" Ms Reid said.

Civic had begun to feel a little more like Canberra's CBD by mid morning too, with the return of outdoor dining bringing some life back to Garema Place.

Australian National University students Eliza Payne and Francesca Jones were in the city to get their nails done.

Ms Payne said after moving here from Sydney to study and having been locked down on campus, it was high time for a little pampering.

"I haven't really been out and about or done any self care in a long time so it's pretty exciting," Ms Payne said.

Post pampering would be picnic time, Ms Jones said.

"We've got restaurant bookings for the next few nights," she said. "We're just looking forward to eating out and spending some time with some friends."

Nathan Brandy was among the tradies sitting down for a kebab as a downpour hit the city.

He was hoping the rain might mean an early knock off and a few post lockdown beers at the Kingo.

"I'll have to ask the boss," he said. "Might be hard to get a booking tonight, though."

Five friends were not taking any chances of missing out on a table on Lonsdale Street at midday.

They'd each taken the day off work and even arranged a couple of husbands to chauffeur them from Assembly to Courgette for lunch.

The mood at the table was joyous as they cheersed one another for the first time in months.

Tracey Banister said it felt nice to get dressed up and head out in the city.

"It's nice to catch up and see faces, instead of just hearing voices over the telephone," Ms Banister said.

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A renewed love of parks and outdoor exercise didn't prevent people queing up to get to the gym from first light on Friday too.

CrossFit Trainer Kai Brownlie said while people had tried online classes for a few weeks, the gym was as much about getting people together as getting the exercise in.

The Kingston gym started running some personal training sessions on Friday and was hanging out for the return of classes next week.

"It's been good to open the doors again," Mr Brownlie said. "We're really excited just to reconnect that community."

Bob Kibble and John Vaughan returned to their weekly coffee routine on Friday, the first one at Westfield Belconnen in months.

Mr Kibble said his teaching job has kept him out in the community a bit, supervising the children of essential workers at Melrose High School.

"We'd normally have a coffee once a week and you miss it, you know? Not being able to have that routine.

"You realise you're in a pandemic and you've just got to go one step at a time to get through the whole thing."

He said lockdown coming to an end felt like confirmation Canberra had taken the right approach.

"We can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train coming down," Mr Kibble said.

Friday's easing of restrictions came with a warning from ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, who has repeatedly reminded residents October 15 is a gentle step forward.

"We have seen Canberrans taking advantage of the changes and the easing of restrictions, be that haircuts and personal services through to cafes, restaurants and other hospitality venues," the Chief Minister said.

"The advice to everyone is be careful, there are a range of things that you can do now that you couldn't do yesterday. But it's a step forward."

It comes as the ACT records another 35 new cases of COVID-19 in 24 hours up to 8pm on Thursday.

Sadly, a woman in her 70s with COVID has also died, at the Calvary Haydon Aged Care Facility.

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