From disinfectant sprayed in streets to the police using drones, much about lockdown has felt dystopian.
But one German cafe has given us a glimpse of how life after lockdown will likely be far from normal.
The managers at Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin, northeast Germany, have got creative with their attempts to enforce social distancing.
Customers enjoying a coffee and a cake on the city’s backstreets have been pictured wearing a hat with swimming noodles attached, to ensure they do not get within six feet of another customer.
Since the unusual spectacle hit Twitter, thousands have flooded in to praise the cafe for its ingenuity.
Katy Lee, the journalist who tweeted the picture of the cafe, wrote: “Oh my god, this is amazing”, adding there was “zero shame attached to it”.
Another remarked: “Absolutely love it, though I suspect I wouldn’t be able to keep my hat on for laughing! Cracking idea for GB schools.”
One Twitter user replied: “I need one of those in Asda!”
Germany began to ease its lockdown on April 27 after experiencing among the lowest death tolls in Europe, at just under 7,000.
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Shops and schools began reopening last week, prompting Chancellor Angela Merkel to consider applying an “emergency brake” to the lifting of restrictions as cases and the infection rate rose.
