We certainly don’t want to cover every mask-related news story in the travel industry these days, but this one is just too wild to not share. A man was spotted using a live snake as a face covering on a bus ride in the Manchester area, in England. The transport agency confirmed that snakes are not valid face coverings, although apparently in this instance, the man’s “mask” didn’t even raise many eyebrows as it happened.
This is as unusual a story as we’ve seen in this pandemic.
The snake face mask
There have been many instances of people being kicked off of planes for not wearing a mask and even a few instances of airlines painting masks onto their plane liveries.
But using a snake as a face mask?
That certainly is very creative.
On September 14th, a man boarded a bus in the Manchester area with this strange-looking face covering and it’s only after seeing it move that someone snapped a pic, realizing it was a live snake.
According to the witness interviewed by the BBC, “no-one batted an eyelid” and the animal didn’t seem to bother other passengers.
After using the snake as a face mask when boarding, the man eventually let the snake wrap around the handrail.
In most places around the world, face masks are required in mass transit because physical distancing is not always possible (we’ve talked about how the coronavirus situation in Greece compared to Canada and we’ll cover Turkey this weekend).
So masks are mandatory in Manchester, but the local transport agency’s spokesperson said: “While there is a small degree of interpretation that can be applied to [which masks are allowed], we do not believe it extends to the use of snakeskin – especially when still attached to the snake.”
Flytrippers did not reach out to airlines to confirm, but we can confidently say that you shouldn’t use a snake as a face mask on your next flight!
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Summary
A man found a very original face mask to ride the bus in Manchester: a live snake. Although it makes for a funny story, snakes probably don’t make for great protection for others around you.
What do you think of this snake mask? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: snake mask (photo credit: PA Media)
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