The weird and wacky ways people are social distancing as the world reopens

With more and more restaurants and public spaces reopening, cities across the globe are adopting inventive ways to ensure people keep their distance.

New Yorkers had some help social distancing this week when one park painted spaced out circles on the lawn. Source: Getty Images

As major cities around the world ease their coronavirus lockdowns, people are coming up with creative ways to ensure people continue to abide by social distance rules as they go about their business.

In Scherwin, Germany, one cafe gave customers hats fitted with pool noodles to make sure patrons were not getting too close to each other.

Cafe Rothe owner Jaqueline Rothe said it was a light-hearted way to remind customers social distancing was still needed.

"It was a perfect gag and of course it was funny, our customers were really into it, but what it did show to us [was] how difficult it is to keep a distance of 1.5 metres," she told CNN.

A New York park also came up with a clever way to encourage social distancing. Source: Getty Images

In New York, Domino Park started to resemble actual dominoes when the park's managers painted circles spaced about two metres apart to remind sunbathers to social distance. 

The Brooklyn park is privately owned, so the city's other parks have not adopted the same technique.

Domino Park in New York. Source: Getty Images

In the US state of Maryland, one restaurant replaced its regular tables with newly-fitted social distancing tables.

Fish Tales Bar and Grill had custom tables resembling something between a bumper car and a vinyl record built for its reopening.

The tables let customers walk around the restaurant without getting closer than two metres apart from any other person.

In Sydney, one Five Dock restaurant placed cardboard cutouts of people at empty tables in a bid to make diners feel more comfortable as they social distance.

Cardboard cutouts sitting at tables inside a Five Dock restaurant. Source: Getty Images AsiaPac

The restaurant also swapped its usual music for a chatter track to make the room feel less empty.

Cardboard cutouts in a Sydney restaurant. Source: Getty Images AsiaPac

In the Netherlands, one Amsterdam restaurant installed five miniature greenhouses so groups could enjoy their meal while completely shielded from other customers. 

Mediamatic Eten's wait staff also wore face shields to maintain protection when serving food inside the greenhouses.

This Amsterdam restaurant installed miniature greenhouses to keep customers separate. Source: Mediamatic Eten

In Michigan, one priest came up with a creative way to help perform mass when the state closed places of worship.

As his parishioners drove past with their windows down, Father Timothy Pelc used a water gun to spray them with holy water.

Father Timothy Pelc distributes holy water via his water gun. Source: Twitter 'KcZubaida'

Instead of blocking out seats and tables, one restaurant in Thailand placed stuffed pandas at seats to stop customers from sitting too close together.

One of Maison Saigon's customers told Reuters "the doll makes me feel less lonely eating out by myself."

Maison Saigon in Bangkok, Thailand placed stuff panda bears on seats to keep customers apart. Source: Reuters