INDOOR RUNS AND NHS BLOOMS

Every day in this column, The Daily Telegraph will seek out and report snippets of comfort as the world fights coronavirus.

♦ James Mcavoy, the X-men star, has donated £275,000 so NHS staff can buy more PPE for their hospitals. This means 75,000 masks and the same number of visors can be ordered. Almost half a million pounds has been donated to the NHS for PPE.

♦ Chelsea Flower Show was cancelled at the beginning of the lockdown, meaning there are many spare plants being held by gardeners. Some of these are now being planted in NHS hospitals, with colourful poppies and thyme cheering up the quad in a Plymouth facility. ♦ Postmen across the country have been cheering up the elderly who cannot leave their homes, leaving bunches of flowers, tubs of yogurt and cartons of milk on their doorsteps while they do their rounds.

♦ Jane Lyde, who usually decorates event spaces with balloons, has found herself unoccupied during the lockdown. She built a giant rainbow out of balloons to cheer up her neighbours in Tooting, South London.

♦ The first food boxes for the vulnerable have been rolled out across the country, landing on doorsteps over the weekend.

♦ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taiwan has repatriated stranded holidaymakers from Peru to Miami on a charter flight. Passengers included people from the US, Taiwan, Singapore and Japan.

♦ The Metropolitan Police force has thanked the public for being polite and understanding during lockdown measures, and quietly moving back inside when asked. Officers also thanked Londoners for bringing them treats and food as they worked to keep the city safe last week.

♦ A jogger has managed to run a half-marathon – while in self-isolation. Sam Hustler, 27, completed the 13-mile trek by completing 5,000 “laps” of the 10ft balcony at his flat.

He had been due to complete yesterday’s London Landmarks Half Marathon, which would have seen him take in sights such as the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral and the Shard.