Millions of people across the UK stood at their doorways and on their apartment balconies last Thursday night at 8pm

Millions of people will clap at their doorways again at 8pm this Thursday

The Dutch yoga teacher who started the campaign to applaud NHS workers has called for the clapping to happen every week throughout the coronavirus crisis.

Millions of people across Scotland and the UK stood at their doorways and on their apartment balconies last Thursday night at 8pm in a moving tribute to the nation's health and care workers.

Millions set to applaud NHS staff in doorways every Thursday at 8pm during lockdown | JPIMedia

Now Clap for our Carers creator Annemarie Plas, who lives in south London, has urged people to do it again at the same time this Thursday - and every Thursday until the end of the pandemic.

Ms Plas told i: “We are at the moment thinking our of our next steps, but after reading all the messages of support, we will do this every week on Thursday at 8pm until the end of the current measures, to keep supporting those who are under enormous stress day in and day out.”

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The 36-year-old came up with the idea of the clapping after seeing it happen in the Netherlands. She started the campaign with a simple message shared out to the world, which began to trend on social media.

The claps heard round the country

Among those who took part on Thursday were Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, the children of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The Clap for Our Carers campaign had called for people to come together for a "big applause" that would "show all nurses, doctors, GPs and carers our appreciation for their ongoing hard work and fight against the virus".

A woman with a loudhailer pays tribute to the NHS in Manchester. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

It followed scenes in Italy where people sang opera and played musical instruments from the windows and balconies of their homes during the country's lockdown. In Paris, mass clapping is taking place every night at 8pm.

Weekly thanks

Ms Plas said the clapping could now be extended to other groups that the nation should be thankful for during the pandemic and to make it more relevant to children.

Thinking about the campaign's next steps, she said: “Do we see that there is a strong voice for extending the group we are thankful for? How can we make it more personal and open it up to the little folks too?”

Millions of people are now set to stand at their doorways and on balconies to clap for carers again this coming Thursday.

This article first appeared at inews.co.uk

Millions of people set to Clap for our Carers in their doorways again this week