Outrage after crowds ignore social distancing rules again to Clap for Carers on Westminster Bridge

There has been further outrage after crowds gathered to clap for carers on Westminster Bridge for the second week in a row.

Last week, huge crowds including emergency service workers were filmed on the bridge at 8pm on Thursday in the weekly round of applause for health care workers.

The scenes were widely condemned as they clearly violated social distancing rules during this lockdown period and potential spread the virus.

At the time it seemed unlikely that this would happen again but against all odds, it has occurred again with similar size crowds, including the police and paramedic, gathering on the bridge on the Southbank to applaud the NHS and care workers in good faith.

The footage has prompted a similar reaction despite some clearly wearing masks and attempting to social distance but the number of people present would have made the latter almost impossible.

As millions of people around the country continue to adhere to social distancing, the footage of people flouting these measures without any repercussions has created outrage.

Prior to the clap, Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, which lies on the other side of the south side of Westminster Bridge had asked people to follow social distancing rules and prevent the spread of Covid-19 but the request clearly fell on deaf ears.

At the time of writing, more than 18,000 people have died from coronavirus in the UK with more than 138,000 people testing positive for the novel virus.