DOORSTEP applause which became a weekly ritual of the first coronavirus lockdown returned tonight, with some Gwent NHS doctors discouraging the gesture.
Pockets of residents across Gwent and the rest of the UK decided to show their admiration for healthcare workers by clapping outside their homes, but it wasn't as popular as Clap for Carers last year.
It came after Clap for Carers founder Annemarie Plas called for a return to the applause, renamed Clap for Heroes.
Ms Plas said she “hoped it would lift the spirits of us all”, but later said she had received threats from trolls.
But doctors – including intensive care consultants Dr Ami Jones and Dr David Hepburn – asked people not to take part.
Don’t clap for me. Just stay home
— david hepburn (@apnoeaboy) January 6, 2021
The UK reported 62,322 new cases on Wednesday – the highest daily figure since mass testing began, and in Wales on Thursday 63 new deaths were reported.
Gwent saw the highest amount of cases of any health board region in Wales on Thursday, with 348.
No thanks. I’d rather you obey the rules, stay at home, wear masks and wash your hands https://t.co/zyFtg9JdrI
— Ami Jones (@JonesTheBosher) January 6, 2021
Dr Jones, who works at the new Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, tweeted: “No thanks, I’d rather you obey the rules, stay at home, wear masks, and wash your hands.”
Her colleague Dr Hepburn added: “Don’t clap for me, just stay at home.”
The Royal Family did recognise the gesture with a tweet, but politicians largely abstained, with some calling for NHS staff to be given a pay rise instead.
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