‘We shall DIGEST corona!’: Indian bakery turns heads (and stomachs) with Covid-19-themed sweets (VIDEO)

As the Covid-19 pandemic grips the globe, one bakery in Kolkata has taken merchandising to a new level, passing out virus-themed confectionery to all takers without charge. But the idea has left some residents feeling queasy.

The pathogenic pastries could be seen on offer at Hindusthan Sweets – a small shop in Kolkata’s Jadavpur district – whose walls are adorned with rallying cries against the lethal ailment, one declaring “We shall digest corona.”

“Three kinds of corona we prepare: one is from cashew nuts, another from cakes and another from sandesh,” the bakery’s owner told Ruptly, the latter item referring to a traditional Bengali dessert.

We have taken the decision that we will not sell it, our customers, when they come to my counter to buy some sweets... they will be gifted one box.

Though the shop’s owner says the playful idea is meant to lift spirits amid the depressing health crisis and a sweeping nationwide lockdown keeping hundreds of millions in their homes, some residents felt it crossed the line, a few even saying the microbe-shaped cakes have forever ruined their taste for sweets.

One particularly feverish critic called for jail time for whoever came up with the idea, insisting they be fed “only this abomination” for two weeks straight, while others expressed genuine concern that the bizarre attraction would only help to spread the “real thing” to customers who flock to the small bakery.

Revulsion was far from the only reaction, however, with some quite impressed by the shop’s creativity.

Despite the countrywide lockdown, imposed last month and set to expire in mid-April, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently allowed sweet shops to remain open with limited hours across the state, according to the Hindustan Times. The decision sent droves of sugar-deprived citizens to get their fix, prompting the Hindusthan bakery to roll out its Covid-themed treats.

With only some 5,300 confirmed cases of Covid-19, India appears to have escaped the fate of the US and some European nations – which have seen in excess of 100,000 infections – but the country’s disease toll is nonetheless on the rise. The worst-hit state of Maharashtra became the first to cross 1,000 cases on Tuesday, adding over 150 infections in a single day, while Tamil Nadu sits not far behind with nearly 700 cases.

Hoping to resolve a dispute with Washington over an export ban on hydroxychloroquine – an antimalarial drug currently under clinical trials as a treatment for Covid-19 – New Delhi on Tuesday lifted the restriction, paving the way for exports to the US. While producers of the drug still require approval from central authorities, they say shipments to the States are “all set,” Business Insider India reported.

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