Desperate to protect themselves against the new virus that causes COVID-19 but unable to buy face masks due to shortages, people in Japan are going to unusual lengths with DIY solutions.

Some in China have already been seen with workarounds such as using fruit skins, plastic bottles, sanitary pads and even bras as makeshift face masks, and now many in Japan are also coming up with ingenious solutions of their own.

Fears over the disease caused by the new coronavirus have led to worldwide mask shortages, triggering not only panic-buying but also criminal acts as opportunists get their hands on masks to sell at inflated, fear-driven prices — recently, thieves stole 6,000 surgical masks from a hospital in Kobe.