Baker launches 'Corona cake' Gaza to raise awareness about coronavirus and social distancing

A Palestinian baker has come up with a novel – and delicious – idea to get people to stay at home in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Gazan Eyad Abu Rezqa is the head of the Al-Nada bakery in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza.

He has created a 'corona cake' depicting a woman wearing a blue face mask, aiming to remind people of the importance of social distancing.

He first posted the design on social media and now dozens of people are ordering them each day in the impoverished Palestinian enclave, he said.

"Straight away it got great interest, customers starting saying 'I want that cake'," Abu Rezqa told AFP.

"Every day our clients' demand for the mask cake is increasing."

He stressed he was not belittling the risk of the deadly disease which has killed more than 50,000 people but trying to keep spirits up while promoting awareness.

So far Gaza has 12 confirmed cases of Covid-19, all of whom are in isolation, according to health authorities in the Hamas-run strip.

Twitter Post

Like much of the world, authorities have put in place strict social distancing rules to try to prevent contagion but have not yet closed all non-essential businesses.

The staff making the cakes are wearing protective clothing, Abu Rezqa pointed out.

UN support

A UN aid agency began delivering food to the homes of impoverished Palestinians instead of making them pick up such parcels at crowded distribution centers - part of an attempt to prevent a mass outbreak of the new coronavirus in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

As the virus continued to spread across the Middle East, Iran, the hardest-hit country in the region, reported 141 new deaths, pushing the death toll closer to 3,000 people.

In Israel, the military said its chief of staff was being placed into protective quarantine. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it would pay medical expenses for anyone infected with the virus.

In Gaza, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees has for decades provided staples like flour, rice, oil and canned foods to roughly half of the territory's 2 million people.

Under the old system, those eligible lined up at crowded distribution centers four times a year to pick up their aid parcels. Starting on Tuesday, the agency began making home deliveries.

Agencies contributed to this report.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected