The people helping strangers during the coronavirus pandemic

By Dilip -

The UK on Monday became the latest country to restrict people's movements because of coronavirus. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson banned people from leaving their homes apart from a few "very limited" reasons. But the new measures have also inspired many to help out in their communities, and social media is awash with offers of help and support for those in need and frontline workers.

More than half a million people responded to the UK government's call to become a volunteer for the National Health Service (NHS), the country's Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Thursday. The government was hoping to get 250,000 people to sign up. A long way from the fraught scenes of supermarkets stripped bare and fights breaking out at the checkouts are the thoughtful groups and individuals who are doing what they can to try and make a difference.

Ravinder Singh, founder and CEO of Khalsa Aid, an international humanitarian relief organization, has been distributing food to hospitals around London and Slough, southeast England, with the help of 25 volunteers. The charity has delivered Punjabi food such as samosas and aloo tikkas, and other essentials such as pizzas and water, to hardworking nurses and doctors in various hospitals.  Most of the food has been donated for free by restaurants, Mr Singh told CNN. They have so far delivered food and water to Northwick Park, Watford, Wexham, St Mary's, St George's, and Charing Cross hospitals and aim to support more outside London in the coming weeks.


The response has been "absolutely fantastic," Mr Singh said, adding that medical staff have been grateful to receive the additional supplies. The charity has delivered 35 crates of tomatoes, 80 loaves of bread, and 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of vegetables, to the NHS and nurses on shift. "They are putting themselves at risk and I think it's time we recognize them as heroes," Mr Singh said...
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/26/europe/kindness-coronavirus-strangers-helping-gbr-scli/index.html

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