This Simple Postcard Is Tackling Self-Isolation With Kindness

A woman from Cornwall has created a simple postcard to help people look after neighbours who are self-isolating due to Coronavirus.

The postcard is designed to be printed at home and dropped on the doorsteps of elderly and vulnerable people who may be self-isolating. It offers them help with shopping, posting letters or a simply "friendly phone call".

Becky Wass, a freelance copywriter from Falmouth, created the postcard template and shared it on Facebook on Thursday.

"I’ve been feeling pretty helpless watching the news. Maybe you have too? I wanted to do something about it, so I’ve made a postcard that I’ll be posting to my older neighbours as this progresses (after washing my hands!)," she wrote.

"If just one person feels less lonely or isolated when faced with this pandemic, then I’ll feel better about it (I hope!)."

The postcard template has now been shared nearly 4,000 times with the hashtag #ViralKindness. Wass's husband has posted it on Twitter, where it's also being widely shared.

Wass told the BBC that she created the postcard in a bid to ease some of the collective anxiety around Coronavirus. "Because fear has spread so quickly, its really important to try to spread kindness," she explained.

The postcard could become increasingly useful in the next few weeks as more people decide to self-isolate. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has confirmed today that everyone in the UK over the age of 70 will be told "within the coming weeks" to stay at home for an extended period to help protect them from Coronavirus.

Many of us are already working from home in a bid to halt the spread of the virus. Meanwhile, Apple has closed all of its stores outside of China in an effort to protect its workforce and customers.