THE NEW NORMAL 5FT SHOES, ROLES WITH POLES AND PALS FOR THE AGED

Every day in this column, The Daily Telegraph seeks out and reports snippets of comfort as the world tries to overcome the fallout from coronavirus

♦ Grigore Lup, a Romanian shoemaker, has carved long nosed European size 75 shoes, which resemble flippers, to help people social distance. Mr Lup hopes his creation will help people stand five feet apart. It takes Mr Lup two days and around 10 sq ft of leather to make the shoes, which cost £101 a pair.

♦ In Norfolk, a garage has teamed up with a local cleaning company to provide an interior disinfectant clean for the inside of cars. The mist-clean, known as “fogging”, uses an antibacterial that kills 99.9 per cent of bacteria and dries quickly.

♦ The need for hand sanitiser will continue long after lockdown lifts. One business has created 24 jobs and repurposed its bottling line to produce it and deliver it to healthcare workers. North West manufacturer Vape Dinner Lady has joined forces with the National Care Association to donate the first 10,000 bottles of its sanitiser.

♦ As actors return to film sets, their working conditions have changed. Twometre poles are being held between the cast and crew on the set of Emmerdale, while hazard tape marks areas that are off-limits. Dot markings on the floor show where people can stand, and some cameras have been covered with wraparound Perspex screens.

♦ In Italy, tourist boards are looking at new ways to welcome back visitors. Archeological sites have reopened with temperature checks, one-way routes and visitor number restrictions. Apps have been developed with alerts for when too many people gather in one place.

♦ More than 200 volunteers have been paired up with isolated elderly people in rural Cheshire through a new befriending phone line, Opal.

The service is planned to continue after lockdown has ended, with users calling it a “lifeline for older residents”. The group received royal recognition on Tuesday with a Queen’s Award for the Voluntary Service.

♦ More than a third of people say they have improved their financial knowledge during lockdown. Three in 10 are actively researching financial advice or guidance on how to manage their money.

♦ Pop-up cycle lanes in Greater Manchester have been praised for helping cyclists feel safe, with one user saying it’s the “first time they have felt safe in 40 years of commuting”.