Five positive news stories from this week

Originally posted on CoronaUnity.

With good news on the rise, the UK has a lot to be proud of during the sixth week of lockdown. Here’s a roundup of the five most inspiring news stories from this week.

UK HAS PASSED THE PEAK

Boris Johnson confirmed this week that the UK had passed the Covid-19 peak and that we have overcome the worst. Brits could return to work as early as May 26th according to reports from Parliament. Next week the government will reveal their plan to restart the economy whilst continuing to flatten the curve. This includes getting people back to work and reopening schools.

SOCIAL DISTANCING CINEMA

Cinemas and theatres have closed across the world but that has not stopped people in the Czech Republic from keeping culture alive. Festivals have organised drive-in cinema experiences where people can still abide by social distancing rules. The US, Lithuania and a few other countries have joined in with the global comeback, making it safe to enjoy a movie without being stuck at home.

THREE WEEKS COAL-FREE

The UK has gone without coal-fired electricity for over three weeks, the longest amount of time since the Industrial Revolution. With a decreasing demand for coal, a new solar power record was set after solar farms generated more than 9.6GW of electricity for the first time. This has led to a reduction in carbon emissions by more than two-thirds since lockdown.

ANIMAL CROSSING WEDDING

Many weddings have been cancelled due to lockdown, but that hasn’t stopped people from marrying their soulmates. According to the BBC, Janna and Stefan from the US decided to get married through Nintendo’s Animal Crossing and invited their family and friends to join in on the fun. Once lockdown is over, they plan to have a real-life wedding but said this was a “lot of fun” and are happy with the outcome.

RAINBOW TRIAL SUCCESS

Crystal Stanley, from Ipswich, started the Rainbow Trail Facebook page after seeing a similar post from Italy and started a rainbow drawing trend. With more than 180,000 members from around the world, Stanley says her group promotes “positivity, hope and togetherness” during the crisis. The group has set up a fundraising page for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices and is spreading support for the key workers.