A man ironically dressed as a plague doctor was spotted wandering behind a presenter during a live BBC News segment.
As the female presenter spoke live from Leicester Square as she gave an update on the coronavirus pandemic, the male member of the public provided some much-needed bit of light relief with the stunt live on air.
Dressed in a dark cloak, a mask with glass eye openings and a beak shaped nose, he sauntered around in the background and left fans in tears of laughter over his attempt at dark humour.
Sharing the clip online, a viewer tweeted: "Bravo the guy dressed up as a plague doctor during tonight's news in Leicester Square #CoronaCrisis."
A plague doctor had been a medical physician who teated victims of the bubonic plague, with the beak often stuffed with herbs, spices and straw. They would often use a cane to examine patients.
Other fans found the moment hilarious, with one tweeting with crying laughing emojis: "Brilliant."
Another commented: "HAHA."
A third remarked: "Bahahahahahaha!!"
Another quipped: "'Crossing live to Leicester Square and there’s not only Paddington Bear sitting here minding his own business, but also a man in a 17th century plague mask.'"
One tweeted: "Dude in a plague mask behind the BBC reporter in Leicester Square."
A viewer tweeted: "THERE'S A PLAGUE DOCTOR CREEPING AROUND IN LEICESTER SQUARE."
This comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that pubs, bars, restaurants and other leisure businesses would close this evening until further notice to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Speaking at the daily press briefing Johnson said: “Following agreement between all the four nations of the UK, we are collectively telling - telling - cafes, bars, pubs restaurants to close tonight as soon as they reasonably can and not to open tomorrow.
"To be clear, they can continue to provide take-out services. We’re also telling nightclubs, theatres, cinemas, gyms and leisure centres to close on the timescale.”
