With the warm spring weather, and tired of being cooped up in their apartments during the long weekend curfew, citizens of Skopje filled the streets, parks and squares today eager for some fresh air. But they were met with a weird sight. Municipal authorities in Skopje’s Centar district decided to wrap up benches with plastic to prevent citizens from sitting on them.

Centar Mayor Sasa Bogdanovic said that the idea was to prevent people from congregating in groups and spending more time outside than necessary. He said that the benches will continue to look like a Christo art project for as long as the Government has its crisis measures in place.