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Greg Evans
Mar 27, 2020
On Thursday evening, the British public took to the streets, gardens, balconies and windows to applaud the NHS and care workers who have been on the front line in the battle to stop the spread of Coronavirus.
The round of applause started at 8 pm and lasted for around a minute or so and featured cheering and even the odd firework. It was a small but moving gesture towards a large group of people that we can't currently thank in person but have already done so much to keep everyone safe.
On paper, it might have seemed a little cheesy and some were sceptical cynical Brits would go through with it, but the people came together and made it a rather special moment in these worrying times.
Incredible show of appreciation and solidarity for our NHS staff on my street and streets across the country tonigh… https://t.co/WCyL0DXuX1— Jeremy Corbyn (@Jeremy Corbyn) 1585257166
That was beautiful. Our whole street. My lovely neighbours. All the love to our carers #clapforNHS— Shaparak Khorsandi (@Shaparak Khorsandi) 1585253335
I gotta be honest...I was pretty sceptical about the clapping (and also in the middle of eating as I’d just got hom… https://t.co/AguagT2iYN— Sarah Merrifield (@Sarah Merrifield) 1585298078
Hearing the whole of London — and presumably the UK — doing #clapforNHS really has brought it home. Hugely emotiona… https://t.co/fnF6YtMUk3— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@Hannah Jane Parkinson) 1585254653
Thank you NHS - from everyone at Channel 4 News #clapforourcarers https://t.co/RKloiBq9Gz— Hayley Barlow (@Hayley Barlow) 1585253975
Tears streaming down my bloody face! Remember this. Look after these wonderful people through all the better times.… https://t.co/ldRzNxW4V4— Stephen McGann💙 (@Stephen McGann💙) 1585253761
That was a beautiful national moment - now if we all really want to show our support for those incredible NHS worke… https://t.co/fQOSZ4go19— Liam Thorp (@Liam Thorp) 1585254372
Thousands of people across the UK clap from their homes to say a nationwide thank you to NHS staff and carers battl… https://t.co/d8l23Adgm8— Sky News (@Sky News) 1585252990
If you didn't know about this beforehand, you might have been very confused about what was going on, especially for delivery drivers or joggers.
Had to laugh. A jogger jogged down our road as everyone came out to cheer and clap and I swear he was oblivious or… https://t.co/PPNdBhwucM— Chris Beck 💙 CMCA (@Chris Beck 💙 CMCA) 1585253971
Opened the back door for a fag at dead on eight and heard rapturous applause and for a moment was wondering what I’d done to deserve it.— DocHackenbush (@DocHackenbush) 1585253961
However, not everyone was impressed, especially when they saw Tory MPs or neighbours that voted Tory in the last general election joining in on the applause.
#clapforNHS was a lovely gesture from a public who felt helpless and wanted to show their appreciation. You and yo… https://t.co/uFMnl3NgVN— TechnicallyRon (@TechnicallyRon) 1585256994
The hypocrisy of this is beyond belief last time the Tories clapped the NHS they were celebrating defeating a bill… https://t.co/w8nPyfULzX— Paul Dwyer (@Paul Dwyer) 1585277260
If you clapped this evening, yet voted Tory in December, hang your head in shame— •𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗔• (@•𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗔•) 1585254051
This is like crying at the funeral of a dog you beat to death with a shovel https://t.co/Gtz4MJgMCd— Conor (@Conor) 1585256471
Spare us the bullshit. You have left NHS staff without WHO standard PPE and didn't prepare staff or the service fo… https://t.co/sF0OG1vKpS— Tina Mac (@Tina Mac) 1585256792
Of course, it's easy to cynical and critical of this type of thing but let's just remember who it was for.
That was emotional 💙— NHS (@NHS) 1585254891
At the time of writing, the Department of Health and Social Care have carried out 104,866 coronavirus tests. 93,208 of those were negative, while 11,658 came back as positive and have sadly resulted in 578 deaths.