A restaurant is testing plastic 'shield pods' to keep diners safe during the coronavirus pandemic

• Plastic cones suspended over the faces of patrons might be the new trend for restaurants reopening their doors during the pandemic.
• The Plex'Eat is a plastic shield created by French designer Christophe Gernigon that hands over the faces of restaurant customers to block germs from passing from one patron to the next.
• Gernigon told the Associated Press he already has over 200 inquiries from restaurants for Plex'Eats in five different countries.
• Bars and restaurants face unique complications in reopening because customers can't eat without removing their masks.

Clear plastic cones hang suspended above customers at Parisian restaurant H.A.N.D. this week in a creative attempt to keep patrons safe as eateries across Europe, and across the world, reopen their doors.

The plastic shields are a prototype called Plex'Eat created by French designer Christophe Gernigon. They are made of plexiglass and resemble lampshades.

Gernigon told the Associated Press he was inspired after visiting a store in Bangkok "with three individual domes with chairs where people would sit and listen to music."

They are being showcased temporarily at H.A.N.D., but they could well be seen elsewhere soon.

Gernignon told The Sun the Plex'Eat will go into production next week, and he has already received interest from companies in France, Belgium, Canada, Japan, and Argentina.

Mathieu Manzoni, director of H.A.N.D., told the Associated Press he thinks the plastic cones are "pretty" and "more poetic" than other solutions to keeping diners safe when restaurants reopen.

It's a unique solution to a common problem: you can't eat without taking off your mask

The biggest risk for transmitting the novel coronavirus is sustained close contact with another person. Some recent research suggests the risks may be much lower than previously thought if nobody at your dining table has symptoms. However, there have been cases of asymptomatic transmission, so public health officials at the World Health Organization, the CDC, and other governments recommend wearing a mask if you must be inside or in close contact with other people. (They stress that the best scenario is to avoid gathering indoors, and physically distance from other people.)

Because customers can't eat without removing their masks, and removing your mask can risk exposing your dinner date and server to germs, bars and restaurants face unique complications in reopening.

Other restaurants have come up with creative ways to stay safe

While the Plex'Eat may look strange to some, it is far from the only creative way restaurants are putting customers at ease are more open their doors again.

Some restaurants have put up plastic shields to block customers faces from one another. Mediamatic Eten in Amsterdam have constructed small glass houses for patrons to sit in.

Others have taken a glass-less approach to keeping customers away from each other. German restaurant Café Rothe gives patrons hats with pool noodles attached to ensure people are properly observing social distancing.

And some have even put cardboard cut outs of other people to make it seem less sparse.