After a divisive period dominated by Brexit, the pandemic has brought about a newly fostered spirit of community engagement and everyday heroism
It was the middle of March and, like almost everyone else in the country, Annemarie Plas, from south London, was sitting at home under the new conditions of the coronavirus lockdown. It was then that she had an idea about organising a community clap for NHS workers after seeing something similar in her home country of the Netherlands. Now, every Thursday at 8pm, millions of people head out into the streets to clap and cheer for the people risking their lives on the frontline. She tells Anushka Asthana how one idea became a national outpouring.
The crisis is bringing people together in other ways too. Naveed Khan is using a customised vehicle to deliver food and supplies to vulnerable people across his home city of Bradford. Lucy Welling, an NHS nurse, had her bike stolen as Britain went into lockdown. But followers on social media rallied round and helped find the bike amid several offers of a new one. The episode inspired a new movement, #TourDeThanks, to offer up bikes to key workers. In Nunhead, south London, Claire Sheppard set up Nunhead Knocks to help out those living in isolation. In Sheffield, 23-year-old Sarah-Jane Clark is one of a number of colleagues who moved in to a care home to look after residents safely.
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