In pictures: Business resumes as lockdowns gradually ease around the world
![Customer Natsuki Suda, wearing a protective mask to prevent infection, receives hair treatment from the owner of hair salon Pinch, Akihiro Yoshida, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Tokyo, Japan, April 28, 2020. According to Yoshida, the revenue of his salon in April falls less than 50 percent of the usual season and now it accepts one customer at a time by appointment only as a measurement for preventing the infection. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY](https://assets.weforum.org/article/image/large_qbTkSQctzbSuN4M9op4IYqPmL4xHO4Wdb6vd9EvIPDY.jpg)
Businesses - such as hairdressers - are finding ways to open up. Image: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
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- A hairdresser’s in Houston, Texas, installed screens to separate customers.
- At the Gare du Nord in Paris, markers on the platforms keep commuters two metres apart while waiting for trains.
- In Brussels, a Mercedes car dealership uses wheels to help social distancing.
Lockdown is loosening a little in some parts of the world. For many, it means a chance to get out and do things once considered mundane. And for struggling businesses, it’s a welcome respite. But measures to throttle the spread of the coronavirus have transformed many everyday activities. Here is a snapshot of how people and companies around the world are adjusting.
On the move
Grabbing a sandwich or a coffee, maybe on the way into work or during your lunch break, has often meant waiting in line. These customers in the Netherlands are using over-sized yellow circles that extend out into the parking lot to wait their turn.
![Customers wait outside on social distancing markings at a prototype location of fast food giant McDonald's for restaurants which respect the 1.5m social distancing measure, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Arnhem, Netherlands, May 1, 2020. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/H2hmndoLnYK7g3yny68otCduaXpK2vJox2eWMl3IfFs.jpg)
It could be that circles are the new way of helping people stand a safe distance apart. Here at the Gare du Nord railway station in Paris, they are in use on the platforms.
![Plastic circles are seen on the ground indicating where to stand to respect social distancing on a platform at the Gare du Nord train station during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Paris, France, May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/01crSBNLaglMPPXB29I3lW45VKIwz22CXmCzGTOuPxU.jpg)
Eating out
Many restaurants and bars may struggle to remain commercially viable if they have to make substantial cuts to the number of customers they can serve at a time. This café in Thailand has adopted a pulley system to pass customers their food and drinks.
![A man receives a coffee in a cart pulled by a rope as a transportation system after a cafe adopted a social distance policy for their customers amid fears of coronavirus outbreak in Bangkok, Thailand March 20, 2020. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/D84UXk-yaGn_cQdyRoJAAa58dB3ENzB4rqC4-PgIJxg.jpg)
And in Hong Kong, customers at this café have a lot more space between them than they used to.
![Tables and chairs are taped up to keep social distancing at a Starbucks coffee shop, following the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Hong Kong, China April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/vO7eMb7zP3lKh34b4brhwx1ngbV5i1NirYmWIh-ty08.jpg)
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Being served
In some countries, you still can’t get your hair cut. But you can if you live in Texas. This salon in Houston has a partition between clients, and the staff wear masks and gloves.
![Women are separated by dividers as they have their hair washed after social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are relaxed, at Bella Rinova in Houston, Texas, U.S. May 8, 2020. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/49lOyjMNaOdDCGpB_8a5pv_MwAQ34MobH4gashc67Vk.jpg)
In Jakarta, these people wait in line to use an automated rice-dispensing machine.
![People wearing protective face masks practice social distancing while receiving rice from an automated rice ATM distributor amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Jakarta, Indonesia May 4, 2020. REUTERS/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/y21UJNVQmrZ4M5XDO-Fg4zyoBllIzEV7ML4A99-A8xY.jpg)
This bank in Tokyo has deployed lots of screening, while both staff and customers are wearing face masks.
![A bank teller wearing a protective face mask stands at a counter where a plastic curtain is installed in order to prevent infections following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, at the Higashinakano branch of MUFG Bank in Tokyo, Japan, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/NIHdhEV57b7ryqNkOBQYEaSc8Yt3olz9nUc4VQXwxug.jpg)
In Brussels, this Mercedes car dealership has put piles of wheels to good use, helping maintain social distancing while staying on brand.
![People stand on social-distancing markers at a Mercedes car dealer, as Belgium began easing lockdown restrictions allowing some businesses to reopen, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Brussels, Belgium, May 6, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY](https://assets.weforum.org/editor/0qImYCbSHFFHXpet1AXq-FAcaa3OdwqcJxiGRiaE7Pc.jpg)
This Italian factory, which produces metal bearings, has added social distancing markings to the floor.
And at this car factory in France, plastic barriers have been installed to maintain social distancing.
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