250,000 people have signed up in a single day to volunteer with the NHS after a recruitment drive to help the vulnerable amid the coronavirus crisis. The helpers are needed for delivering food and medicines, driving patients to appointments and phoning the isolated. The help is being targeted at the 1.5 million people with underlying health conditions who have been asked to shield themselves from the virus by staying at home for 12 weeks.
About 11,000 former medics have also agreed to return to the health service and more than 24,000 final year student nurses and medics will join them.
Stephen Powis, NHS England medical director, said there had been "outbreaks of altruism" and he was "bowled over" by the medics returning to the front line and the response from volunteers.
The government scheme to recruit 250,000 helpers went live on Tuesday. By Wednesday morning, they had exceeded their target.
Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said the virus posed an "acute" risk in prisons, many of which were overcrowded and faced staff shortages as officers self-isolated. So the government is considering the early release of some prisoners to relieve pressure caused by the outbreak.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52029877
The number of people who have volunteered to help the NHS in its fight against coronavirus has passed half a million, double the government's recruitment target.
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