Perhaps the only people more relieved to hear that Orange's lockdown would be lifted than the ones who had waited weeks for a haircut, were the hairdressers themselves.
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As soon as the good news was announced Thursday morning, salon owners like Jody Thornberry (of JCS Hair Studio) and Rose Whitford (Tangled Hair and Beauty Salon) were inundated with bookings.
"They're coming in like crazy, we can't keep up. We have so many people [wanting to make an appointment]," Ms Whitford said.
"We're just so excited just to get back into it," she added.
Fellow salon owner Ms Thornberry was similarly relieved after six weeks of being closed during the lockdown to finally be opening again.
Although it was no small job rescheduling nearly two months' worth of appointments.
"We're going to be working around the clock to catch up," she said.
"I'll be working [for] probably at least two to three weeks straight just to try and get it all back up to where it should be."
Despite the relief of the lockdown ending, there was still real concern hanging over hairdressers' and many other businesses' heads that Orange's freedom could be short-lived. Meaning, small business owners like Ms Thornberry needed to maintain a frantic work schedule in the coming days.
"It's been very tough but on the bright side, and on the nice side of it, I've had an extreme amount of support [during the lockdown]," she added.
"Like there's been people dropping me off food. [I'll get a text] telling me to go look at my door and there'll be parcels [there].
"[It's made me] realise that there's really good people in our community wanting to help us small businesses keep going. So, you know, as tough as it was, it was so nice to see that support in such a little community."
While Orange hairdressers will be allowed to reopen Friday morning, Dubbo MP Dugald Saunders said there will still be some restrictions but they could be altered in the coming days and weeks.
"The way the health order stands, it's the one person per 4sqm rule, or capped at a maximum of five people, or capped at a maximum of five people. We know there are a lot of hairdressing facilities that have the capability of doing more than that and having that space without a problem," Mr Saunders said.
"There's quite a few of us that have been talking through that with the health minister's office and also through the deputy premier's office.
"I'm hopeful, but there's no decision made around that yet, but we're hoping there can be a little bit of flexibility around that shortly."
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