The virus that has caused over a million deaths worldwide will be prominent at Halloween this year — as a costume.
Merchants at Mexico City’s Sonora Market are selling coronavirus costumes for 250 pesos (US $12.00), and they have proved popular.
The costumes are a phosphorescent green, include a spiky mask with a fierce, toothy grin and are wrapped in yellow hazard tape. The costume is already a bestseller, the newspaper El Universal reported, surpassing zombies, skeletal Catrinas and the Joker in its appeal.
Jovana Méndez, who works at the market’s Zombie Town costume shop, says that customers young and old have responded well to the costume.
“Knowing that we Mexicans like to be amusing, we came up with the cap, the mask and the shirt,” she said. “We knew this was going to explode. Covid-19 has already infected Mexico City and now it is going through the Sonora Market,” she said laughing.
Coronavirus costume sales are helping merchants such as Zeus Dante, who also sells a Covid-19 mask, rebound from the economic crisis the pandemic has provoked.
“Sales have not been very good, but with the mask, they have recovered a bit,” he said.
In 2014, online retailers peddled a “Sexy Ebola Nurse” costume, replete with a white mini-dress, goggles, face shield and latex gloves which was loudly panned on the internet for being insensitive to victims of the virus.
Earlier this month Amazon removed coronavirus Halloween masks marketed on its site by an independent seller after public outcry.
The masks, made in China, resembled the virus under a microscope with the addition of googly eyes and ragged teeth.
“These masks show a terrible lapse of judgment by the manufacturers and sellers, and I hope they will be removed from sale quickly,” said Rachel Power of a British parents’ organization. “I’ve no doubt the great majority of people will find them hugely distasteful, and I can’t imagine that many people would wish to wear one.”
The masks continue to be available on Amazon from other sellers, however.
Other coronavirus-inspired costumes include “Sexy Hand Sanitizer,” “Sexy Banana Bread” modeled after one of the pandemic’s most common baked goods, and toilet paper rolls, either empty or full.
Source: El Universal (sp)
