With coronavirus Easter, chocolate bunnies now wear masks

This Easter some chocolate bunnies are practicing good public health behavior by wearing (white chocolate) masks. And they're in demand, as the world prepares to celebrate the Christian holiday on Sunday in isolation because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The tiny Bohnenblust Bakery in Bern, Switzerland, decided to embrace the times we live in. Candy makers created coronavirus-ready chocolate bunnies that sold out quickly. Red hearts adorn the tip of the masks on the army of sweet figures.

"We are a small bakery, with only four people working in the chocolate manufacture," co-owner Ruth Huber wrote in an email.

Thousands of miles away, Lillie Belle Farms in Central Point, Ore., makes its own version that it calls Covid Bunnies.

They come in milk, dark or white chocolate (the latter take longer) and cost $10 each. Limit: four bunnies per person. You can order online, though it's unlikely you'll receive your order in time for Easter.

"The Easter Bunny is on his way and is here early delivering much-needed chocolate relief," the company posted on its website in mid-March.

In Greece, Orthodox Easter comes later, on April 19. A patisserie in Lykovrysi, in the north Athens area, created chocolate bunnies with masks and gloves while the country remains under stay-at-home orders, according to the Greek City Times.

How important is the Easter bunny anyway?

Well, New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern recently declared the spring icon to be an "essential worker." Um, she included the Tooth Fairy too (which seems fitting).