#Inventive bus-rider wears live snake instead of coronavirus mask

He’s practicing social hiss-stancing.

UK bus riders are going bananas after spotting a passenger wearing a giant snake as a makeshift coronavirus mask, as seen in still photos from a viral video posted by the Manchester Evening News.

“It was definitely entertaining,” said an unnamed 46-year-old woman, who recalled the man boarding the Swinton-to-Manchester shuttle with the “snake wrapped around his face.”

Indeed, the accompanying clip shot by a fellow passenger depicts the man sitting nonchalantly in his seat with the constrictor coiled about his head like a scaly face covering.

In fact, the bystander initially thought “had a really funky mask on” until “he let it crawl around the hand rails,” per her account.

Fortunately, onlookers weren’t bothered by the serpentine stunt, she said. Some sources even speculate that the man was mocking the government mandate requiring citizens to wear face masks while riding public transportation.

However, his fashion statement didn’t amuse the Manchester-based bus company, who said they’re “shocked at these reports and are taking them very seriously.”

“The safety of our customers and employees is our absolute priority,” said a spokesperson for the transit firm. “We expect all of our customers to comply with the government’s rules on wearing a suitable face covering on public transport.”

The company is currently conducting an investigation into the herpetological hijinks, which includes reviewing the footage and interviewing the driver.

This isn’t the first time someone has worn unconventional anti-COVID couture in public. Enterprising citizens have previously made headlines for donning everything from umbrellas to grapefruit skins to keep the disease at bay.