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Coronavirus: Worldwide applause for front-line medical staff

People under lockdown are showing their gratitude to front-line healthcare workers worldwide by applauding them.

Tributes to healthcare workers are pouring in from around the world amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as the world gives medical heroes a standing ovation from windows and balconies. 

The phenomenon of people cheering in the evenings began in mid-January in the city of Wuhan in China, where the virus originated.

First social media posts recorded anonymous voices in the night, shouting from high-rise apartment buildings: “Keep up the fight!” 

The practise took off in Italy, where those under quarantine not only clapped – they sang arias, football chants and popular songs, played instruments and waved flags.

It then quickly spread to other countries under lockdown with deafening applause heard in Paris, London, various cities across Spain, India and Turkey.

Watch our compilation of global tributes to front-line medical staff edited by Al Jazeera NewsFeed’s Katya Bohdan.