For the majority of businesses, the coronavirus pandemic has forced them to stop serving customers with an almost immediate effect.
Restaurants, pubs and bars were forced to close last week, and now tonnes of high street shops have also had to shut their doors to conform with government guidelines.
Supermarkets are some of the few remaining shops that are still allowed to remain open and although people were initially criticised for panic buying and forming tightly packed queues to get inside, things seemed to have calmed down a little recently.
One man in Leeds has used the current situation to forge a new business venture though. He has set up a stall outside the Burmantofts Aldi on Regent Street selling face masks to people heading inside.
The man, who did not wish to be named when approached by LeedsLive, is handing out the fabric face masks for a small fee to everyone who goes into the supermarket.
It may seem like a good idea, but official government guidelines state that generic face masks will not help protect people from coronavirus.
Advice from the Health and Safety Executive says: "Tight-fitting respirators (such as disposable FFP3 masks and reusable half masks) rely on having a good seal with the wearer’s face.
"A face fit test should be carried out to ensure the respiratory protective equipment (RPE) can protect the wearer."
So despite the entrepreneur's quick thinking and undoubtedly good intentions, paper face masks are not the best way to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Instead, people are being asked to wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap and warm water, as well as maintaining a gap of at least two metres between yourself and anyone outside your household.
