THENEWNORMAL

$21BN TO FIGHT VIRUS,RESPONDERS GET NEW TASKS AND 600-YEAR-OLD STREET MARKET SELLS AGAIN

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

The Group of 20 rich and emerging economies has pledged more than $21billion (£16.58billion) to fight coronavirus.

The NHS Volunteer Responders scheme has been expanded to offer vital support to front-line health and social care staff. More than 285,000 tasks have been carried out so far, helping people from across the community with tasks such as delivering shopping.

A street market which has been operating for more than 600 years has reopened more than two months after closing in the wake of the crisis. Traders at the Saturday market in Lymington, Hampshire, last sold their wares on March 21. Fewer stalls than usual were open, while customers were urged to stay apart when queuing and to sanitise their hands.

Volunteers and civil society have stepped in to avoid mass starvation among the poor in India. Locals in Noida have distributed more than 200,000 meals since March 28, in food packs which are sanitised and delivered by volunteers adhering to social distancing rules.

Sistas Van, sponsored by the Black Women’s Blueprint, is usually a wheelchairaccessible “mobile healing unit” for survivors of sexual trauma and domestic violence. However, its organisers have used it to donate resources, food and essentials primarily to the vulnerable communities in New York.