Coronavirus positive: good news round-up - Australians use exercise allowance to surf

The profound weirdness of lockdown life hits all of us in different ways at different moments.

In this country it’s the idle thought that perhaps we’ll have a Sunday lunch in the pub this weekend, before remembering that’s out of the question.

In Spain it must be a similar situation when realising you can’t go out for an early evening drink and tapas at the normal time - 11.30pm. But imagine being an Australian and told you can’t go the beach?

I’ve never been to Australia, but imagine it’s an insult on a par with a total ban on barbecues or wearing hats decorated with stringed corks. Great news, then that Sydney beaches are gradually re-opening.

Coogee, Clovelly, Maroubra and Malabar are all now accessible again to the public, a sure sign that life is returning to normality, or “fair dinkum” as it’s known in Australia. Again, as I say, I’ve never been.

They’re strictly for exercise only, which over here might mean a gentle walk with a sea view. Obviously in Australia it means surfing.

Not quite sure how you can do that and obey social distancing rules, but perhaps Australians are such proficient board-wranglers they’re able to remain apart from others, at all time, by a distance of at least one wave.

Elsewhere A former rugby player who suffered a spinal cord injury which left him without use of his limbs three years ago is climbing Everest. In stair form! Read more about Ed Jackson’s endeavour here.

Captain Tom Moore is getting a spitfire flypast as a reward for his heroics, if the department for transport plays ball. There is a thought that May the fourth, international lame Star Wars joke day, could be when we start to ease out of lockdown.

And a European grey wolf has been spotted in Normandy. Usually that would be cause for alarm but it’s the first time in a century that the species has been spotted so far north.

Here’s Harriet with the rest of today’s good news

• The UK is preparing to trial using blood plasma from coronavirus survivors in hospital patients with the disease. It’s hoped that the antibodies in the blood will help to clear the virus and reduce recovery time. The US has already started trialling the method with 1,500 hospitals taking part.

• A music teacher in Hong Kong decked out three trucks with pianos so he, and fellow teachers, could drive to meet students for lessons.

• Rare leatherback turtles have built more nests on Thailand's beaches than any time in the past 20 years as tourists have deserted the waterside. In late March the Phang Nga national park monitored 84 hatchlings.

• Small shops, bookshops and garages have reopened in Germany, along with 73 outdoor tourist sites in Beijing 73.

• European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is optimistic that summer holidays can go ahead. “I think we will find smart solutions to have some vacation, perhaps a bit different, with other hygiene measures and a bit more with social distancing. It’s impressive to see that we find a solution and therefore I am positive about summer vacation,” she said.

• The Fantastic Four: four friends who include a nail technician, a secretary, a Grandma and an insurance broker, have gone from making chicken soup for a handful of loved ones working in the NHS, to delivering over 1,200 meals a day, with a network of 50 delivery drivers, 10 chefs and 10 community hubs. The group is called You Donate We Deliver.

• The BBC is set to launch a 14-week lockdown learning scheme for children missing school – with special supply teachers like David Attenborough and Jodie Whittaker. Manchester City footballer Sergio Aguero will help children count in Spanish while former shadow chancellor Ed Balls will deliver a maths class for 11 to 14-year-olds.

• Support workers in Neath, Wales, have created a replica Mcdonald’s drive-through to help those with autism maintain a sense of normality and structure. They handmade their uniforms and managed to get packaging from a local McDonald’s. The centre is used by autistic people looking for support and to socialise.
  By Harriet Barber

TODAY’S MOODBOARD

Three pleasant things to put into your head 

1.

Utterly delightful work from Everton footballer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, checking in with his pal Emilia:

2.

A dogwalker on Blythe Beach in Northumberland:

3.

• Do you have some good news to share? What's made you happier in the past 24 hours? Have you seen a pleasing picture of a kind animal? Please send it all our way, either by commenting below or emailing coronapositive@telegraph.co.uk

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