Palestinian Baker Goes Viral After Inventing 'Corona Cake' Design

Palestinian baker Eyad Abu Rezqa says he wants to raise awareness - and spirits - with his 'corona cake'. AFP
Palestinian baker Eyad Abu Rezqa says he wants to raise awareness - and spirits - with his 'corona cake'. AFP
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Palestinian Baker Goes Viral After Inventing 'Corona Cake' Design

Palestinian baker Eyad Abu Rezqa says he wants to raise awareness - and spirits - with his 'corona cake'. AFP
Palestinian baker Eyad Abu Rezqa says he wants to raise awareness - and spirits - with his 'corona cake'. AFP

As the world tries to raise awareness everyday over the risks of coronavirus, Palestinian baker Eyad Abu Rezqa had his own plans to convince people to stay at home.

Abu Rezqa, who is also head of the Al-Nada bakery in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza, has created a 'corona cake' depicting a woman wearing a blue face mask aiming to remind people of the importance of social distancing.

First, he posted the design on social media and now dozens of people are ordering them each day.

Abu Rezqa stressed he was not belittling the risk of the deadly disease which has killed more than 50,000 people but trying to keep spirits up while promoting awareness.

"Straight away it got great interest, customers starting saying 'I want that cake'," Abu Rezqa told AFP.

"Every day our clients' demand for the mask cake is increasing."

The staff making the cakes are wearing protective clothing, he pointed out.

So far Gaza has 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19, all of whom are in isolation, according to health authorities.

Like other countries around the world, authorities have put in place strict social distancing rules to try to prevent contagion but have not yet closed all non-essential businesses.



UK Farm Swaps Milk for Cow Cuddles

Visitor Jess Tinton embraces a cow during a "Cow Cuddling" experience at Dumble Farm in Arram, Britain, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Visitor Jess Tinton embraces a cow during a "Cow Cuddling" experience at Dumble Farm in Arram, Britain, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
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UK Farm Swaps Milk for Cow Cuddles

Visitor Jess Tinton embraces a cow during a "Cow Cuddling" experience at Dumble Farm in Arram, Britain, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
Visitor Jess Tinton embraces a cow during a "Cow Cuddling" experience at Dumble Farm in Arram, Britain, June 17, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble

Years of floods and low food prices have driven a dairy farm in England's northeast to stop milking its cows and instead charge visitors to cuddle them.

Dumble Farm started as a dairy farm in the 1970s, but in recent years flooding washed out crops and killed off the type of grass the cows like to eat, while milk prices below cost of production proved an insurmountable challenge, Reuters reported.

"The amount of flooding and the pressures on our land were just making it unsustainable for us to carry on," said Fiona Wilson, co-owner of the farm.

Agriculture is one of the sectors worst-affected by climate change, with farmers in Europe and elsewhere suffering under increasing heat, drought and flooding.

In 2022, Dumble Farm sold all but a few of its dairy cows and, in a scramble to reinvent itself, began offering "cow cuddling" experiences to fund a wildlife conservation scheme.

For 95 pounds ($127.80), visitors can cuddle, brush and stroke the cows as they lie down on a straw-covered enclosure inside a barn. The experience includes a safari to see Highland cattle.

"It's been so worth it, just to get so close to the cows, and they are so loving and gentle," guest Emma Hutton, 25, said after she spent some time cuddling one of the cows.

It took over a year to train the cows to feel comfortable with cuddling, but now the animals have fully adjusted, farmer James McCune said.

"They like being pampered. They are like big dogs... It's more of a spa day for the cows," McCune said. The farm uses the proceeds to create habitats to protect wildlife and support declining species, such as lapwing birds.

"It's great that we can fund the conservation scheme by having visitors to the farm, and that's really the bigger picture," Wilson said.