The Clap for Carers campaign is set to return this Thursday after the UK entered its third lockdown with the NHS facing a surging second wave.

Members of the public began applauding NHS and key workers at 8pm during the first wave in March, until founder Annemarie Plas called for it to end due to fears the gesture was becoming politicised.

The campaign will now be known as Clap for Heroes, paying tribute to everyone been affected by the pandemic, not just NHS workers, but parents and people who have been shielding.

Ms Plas, 37, from Streatham Hill, told the Evening Standard: “It will be different this time, it’s not a surprise to us what will happen but it will still be bloody challenging.

“My hope is that it will have the same response, to set it up in a day is a bit of a challenge but I will be going out with a spoon and a pan to activate people on my street.

“I was waiting to start it up for the anniversary in March but life is full of surprises and we entered another lockdown on Monday.

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“We want to include all the heroes of the NHS who work tirelessly round the clock and all the jobs around that.

“We want to applaud all those people who are shielding. I haven’t hugged my father in a year because he is vulnerable so it will be for him and others going through the same.

“The heroes include parents with children who now have had their schools closed after one day and will now have to juggle work with childcare.”

Millions of people across the country regularly paused to applaud frontline NHS staff, carers and health workers after the coronavirus outbreak.

It saw throngs gather in their gardens, balconies and on street corners, sometimes playing instruments or bashing pots and pans to create a visual and audible show of support.

But it has also divided opinion between some who feel empowered and encouraged by the gesture, and others who feel it is patronising.

Just this week, Dame Til Wykes, professor of clinical psychology and rehabilitation at King's College London said: "NHS staff continue to need our support.

"We don't need to clap for them, we just need to stay at home and follow all the rules.

"The evidence is that most people are being very careful, but there are still some who think that Covid-19 is a myth or that they are immortal - neither are true."