Coronavirus merch is getting out of hand

One Hanoi restaurant has a plan for tackling COVID-19: “If you want to beat it, eat it.” 

According to Reuters, chefs at the takeaway shop Pizza Home are staining hamburger buns with green tea and topping them with dough “crowns” so they look like a virus isolate — think of that 3D coronavirus photo that every major publication is using right now. 

Coronaburgers are not blowing the buns off Pizza Home, but they’re definitely popular — the restaurant sells about 50 a day.

Burgers are only the beginning

While we huddle in our homes, the virus is starting to creep into our buying lives — often in ethically dubious ways. Everything is coronavirus-themed right now. 

• Corona merch is booming on Etsy, CafePress, and Raygun, where you can buy a “quarantine bingo” T-shirt and a “self-quarantine wine glass” among other staples.
• “Coronavirus,” a song born from a Cardi B Instagram video and remixed by the DJ iMarkkeyz, is a streaming hit.
• Another musical entry: “Corona Virus” by Lil Nix, further proof that we are entering the age of pandemic pop. 
• A viral TikTok dance, the #GhenCoVyChallenge, is also an international PSA about washing your hands.

Never forget the OG 

And of course, we have the pandemic heavyweight: Corona beer. After the beer brand took it upon itself to clarify that “there is no link between the virus and our business” at the end of February, 20-something meme-makers have embraced Corona as their own. 

In Facebook groups like Zoom Memes for Self Quaranteens, Corona beer plays a starring role.