'Original' shop sign warning customers to wear masks goes viral

The store, which sells musical instruments, has probably unwittingly launched its best-ever advertising campaign: In less than 24 hours, 939 'likes' and nearly 300 retweets had been counted, and these have been multiplying since.

The sign, typed on a computer and printed on white A4 paper, reads: “If you enter this shop without a mask on, we'll need to take your temperature! (PS. We've only got rectal thermometers).”

Comments have included: “Congratulations to those who had this brilliant idea,” “this will definitely triumph,” and, “this isn't bad at all.”

And it is not the only 'creative' warning sign seen on doors of shops in Zaragoza: Another, which has been doing the rounds on Twitter, is a little less subtle.

The cleaned-up version of it reads something to the effect of: “Zaragoza is at war against idiots and Coronavirus. With your high-jinks, mass gatherings, giant banquets...for wearing your mask beneath your chin, on your elbow, or on your genitals...thank you, idiots! We're going to drop like flies!”

One Twitter user replied: “This is brilliant! My brother owns a supermarket, so I've just sent this to him. It's cracked me up.”

Similar signs, largely anonymous, are now literally wallpapering the city's main Avenida de la Independencia as residents seek to convince each other to behave responsibly after a series of outbreaks nationwide following the end of lockdown.

The majority appear to have been detected following large parties or gatherings among friends and family – including a house party with 66 guests, all of them very young adults, in Cantabria – and, of the 5,000 or so cases diagnosed since lockdown was declared over at the end of June, around half are asymptomatic.

This is good news and bad news: It means around half of those infected are not ill, their lives are not at risk and they will not put the safety of healthcare workers in jeopardy, nor strain medical service resources; but it also means these people did not know they were infected, and are likely to have passed Covid-19 onto others, who may not be so lucky.

Mask-wearing is now compulsory everywhere in Spain at all times when outside the home, with some regions being stricter than others.

In Andalucía, they are required even at the beach, by the pool or when out in near-deserted countryside, although these three scenarios do not involve mandatory masks in the Comunidad Valenciana.

In Galicia, bar and café customers, even on outside terraces, are required to wear masks, only lifting them briefly to take bites or sips, and in Asturias, those who want to smoke need to move as far away as possible from the nearest person to do so – walking down the pavement having a cigarette with your mask temporarily lifted is not allowed.

Most regions are still at the stage of police 'warning' people if they are caught not wearing a mask, but some are now issuing fines ranging from €100 to €600.

Fines apply even for those with masks on who are not wearing them properly – if they do not cover the nose and mouth, for example.

Photograph by La Hija del Pupas on Twitter (@hijadelpupas)