The FreeHand Barbershop  Photo: Courtesy of Zhang Chenjian

As the Chinese capital city announced on Saturday the reopening of retail and entertainment services from Sunday, barber shops and hair saloons across Beijing have largely resumed business operations after nearly one month shutdown amid a flare-up of Omicron.

Zhang Chenjian, an employee of FreeHand Barbershop in Chaoyang district, told the Global Times on Monday that his shop reopened on Sunday, with all the slots over the first two days completely booked out.

"Three barbers have returned to their positions at present, and our shop owner, also one of the barbers, is still in quarantine due to positive COVID-19 cases uncovered in his residential block," Zhang said. 

In May, Zhang's barbershop has only opened for seven days due to the lateset coronavirus outbreak, with business revenue falling by nearly 80 percent from the same period last year, he said. "We have no choice but stay at our homes for a long time," said Zhang.

Beijing authorities announced on Saturday that shopping malls and entertainment venues in districts that had no reported positive COVID cases within seven days could resume operations. For the parks, capacity is capped at 50 percent and negative PCR test results within 48 hours are required. 

An employee from another hair saloon in Chaoyang district confirmed with the Global Times that they resumed service on Monday, but the workers were separated into two shifts and need to provide a negative result of nucleic acid test within 48 hours.

Zhang and his colleagues were told to undergo nucleic acid testing before business reopening. "I hope barber shops and hair saloons can be listed in essential services needed by city residents if  there emerges another flare-up, which will help our business and our guests," Zhang said.