That's using your head! German cafe makes customers wear swimming noodle hats to enforce social distancing

A German cafe made their customers wear swimming pool noodles as hats to make sure they obeyed social distancing measures as the country begins to ease lockdown. 

Customers sitting outside Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin, Germany, all had to wear straw hats with two swimming pool noddles taped to the top. 

The cafe staff introduced the inventive rule make sure their customers were not flouting social distancing rules.

A picture of the cafe's unique policy was shared on Facebook, with people flocking to share their reactions to the cafe's noodle technique. 

Customers sitting outside Cafe & Konditorei Rothe in Schwerin, Germany, all wore straw hats with two swimming pool noddles taped to the top as the cafe makes sure they do not flout social distancing

One Facebook user said: 'My husband had suggested a week ago that we in Spain should all wear wide sombreros. Ahead of his time!'  

The customers were pictured looking very relaxed in their colourful headgear as they enjoyed their drinks and didn't seem phased by the giant woggles on their heads.  

Another Facebook user said: 'So, I think that's innovative. There is certainly a portion of ironic humour in it!' 

But a few people expressed concerns at the cafe reusing the hats and hoped they cleaned them in between sittings. 

It is not the first time people have been seen doing inventive things to enforce social distancing, as robots were used in Singapore to tell people to stay home and people in America walked around in plastic bubbles. 

Other cafes have used floor markings to allow people to sit outdoors. A cafe in Cologne, Germany, used 1.5m minimum markings to enforce social distancing

Cafes and restaurants have started reopening across Germany as the country begins to ease itself out of lockdown. 

Local governments have been following their own timetables in letting restaurants and cafes reopen since May 11 as part of the careful easing of restrictions.

Chancellor Angela Merkel announced last week that all shops are allowed to reopen, pupils will begin returning to school and two households will able able to meet and eat together.

But Germany's R rating - the rate of infection - rose from 1.1 to 1.13 over the weekend, before dropping to 0.94 on Tuesday.

Some states considered reintroducing lockdown measures to prevent a second wave of infections, which has already been used in some areas. 

A customer looks at the 'Statue of an Offerings-Bearer' at the Altes Museum (Old Museum) in Berlin as the venue opens its doors after lockdown restrictions are relaxed in the country