DOORSTEP applause which became a weekly ritual of the first coronavirus lockdown returned tonight, with some Gwent NHS doctors discouraging the gesture.

Pockets of residents across Gwent and the rest of the UK decided to show their admiration for healthcare workers by clapping outside their homes, but it wasn't as popular as Clap for Carers last year.

It came after Clap for Carers founder Annemarie Plas called for a return to the applause, renamed Clap for Heroes.

South Wales Argus: Annemarie Plas threatened by online trolls over its return. (PA)Annemarie Plas threatened by online trolls over its return. (PA)

Ms Plas said she “hoped it would lift the spirits of us all”, but later said she had received threats from trolls.

But doctors – including intensive care consultants Dr Ami Jones and Dr David Hepburn – asked people not to take part.

The UK reported 62,322 new cases on Wednesday – the highest daily figure since mass testing began, and in Wales on Thursday 63 new deaths were reported.

South Wales Argus: People outside the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. Picture: PAPeople outside the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London. Picture: PA

Gwent saw the highest amount of cases of any health board region in Wales on Thursday, with 348.

Dr Jones, who works at the new Grange University Hospital in Cwmbran, tweeted: “No thanks, I’d rather you obey the rules, stay at home, wear masks, and wash your hands.”

Her colleague Dr Hepburn added: “Don’t clap for me, just stay at home.”

The Royal Family did recognise the gesture with a tweet, but politicians largely abstained, with some calling for NHS staff to be given a pay rise instead.