Opticians and hairdressers often work with appointments. At the Kappershuis hair salon, someone is just getting a haircut. “It’s quiet here,” say the two hairdressers. “We can actually just relax,” they laugh. Optician Guus Brillen also has two customers. “We have not yet had any cancellations for eye tests, for example. People just come into the store. With foggy glasses of course, but then we arrange for them to become clear again.”
Besides the fact that the shopping streets are deserted, it is also very quiet on the roads and sidewalks in Meppel. A few cars drive, there are even fewer cyclists and certainly no cyclists. Most of the time you see people walking. Runners are an extinct breed today. “Runners and cyclists are on the road, but unfortunately not on their way to us,” says Daan Kuneken of Triathlonworld. He has had two customers, and he doesn’t really expect more.
“What we do see is that runners and athletes only buy clothing when necessary. Only when it is cold do they buy thicker layers of clothing, or lighting when it gets dark earlier in the evening.” But since hardly anyone runs or cycles these days, these purchases are also not made.