Photos: Baby Jesus dolls help raise COVID-19 awareness in Mexico

Mexico City: Wearing miniature face masks and clutching tiny bottles of hand sanitizer, dolls representing the baby Jesus are being given a COVID-19 theme in a pandemic-era twist to a Mexican tradition.

Every February 2, Mexican Catholics mark Candlemas, the day when according to their tradition Christ was presented in the temple in Jerusalem.

It is usually an occasion for families to celebrate and to dig deep into the imagination to create new outfits for baby Jesus dolls.

A doll displayed for sale at the 'Nino Uribe' traditional Mexican store in Mexico City.

This year's trend is 'COVID Child' - a sign of the times in the Latin American country, which has reported more than 150,000 coronavirus deaths, one of the world's highest tolls.

At a store in Mexico City's historic district, dolls roughly the size of a newborn baby peer out at shoppers from behind their small masks and face shields.

Some are dressed in medical gowns while others wear white laboratory coats and even stethoscopes.

The idea is to "pay tribute to the doctors and nurses who are on the front line of this pandemic," said manager Felipe Garrido. "It's also to raise awareness so people understand that this is not a game and that we're going through a very difficult situation," he added.

"As we're very religious people, when we leave home and do the sign of the cross and turn to see the baby Jesus it reminds us that we must leave with a face shield, mask and hand sanitizer."

'Nino Uribe' sells representations of the Baby Jesus called Baby COVID to raise awareness on the preventive measures to take amid the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.