Happy hour: positive news on April 11th

You woke up to seven unread messages—“I hope you’re okay. How is the lockdown treating you?”— and four breaking news blasts on the Corona crisis. After spending the first hours of your day getting informed on how the global pandemic is turning the world upside-down, it’s now time to get working.

Finally, it’s 6 PM and the day has come to an end. You’re settling into your comfy couch with a chilled pint. You might be done with your official working hours but there’s a new task on your to-do list: keeping up with corona, season 2. After strategically maneuvering yourself out of Covid-19 related conversations during the day in the name of “work,” you now have no excuse.

There might be a better way to stay updated though, without the ominous soundtrack of doomsday—Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5—looming over your head. Keep the happy in happy hour with these positive news stories, from and about workers responding to Covid-19. And remember, Symphony No. 5 ends on a victorious note.

1. UK government provides financial support to employees and freelancers

Last month, the UK government announced an employee job retention scheme but the new measures to help workers left out self-employed professionals. The government responded to this criticism, just a few days later, with a special scheme for freelancers. This £10 billion Covid-19 package—Self-Employment Income Support Scheme—aims specifically to help self-employed workers, who make up about 15% of the British workforce. Wondering if you’re eligible for this scheme? Find out here.

2. NHS establishes a free mental health hotline for health workers

Volunteers from different UK charities have come together to start a free mental health hotline for NHS health workers on the frontline of the fight against Covid-19. NHS workers not only have to deal with Covid-19 patients and thereby severely increasing their chances of contracting the virus, but also with a burdensome emotional toll that comes with fighting a global health crisis. In this interview with The Guardian, intensive care unit worker Laura McClelland speaks about the emotional trauma of announcing deaths to family members on the phone.

3. Netflix creates a relief fund for creatives who are now out of work

Netflix established a $100m fund to help workers in the video entertainment industry that have lost their jobs and contracts due to the Covid-19 lockdowns. “Almost all television and film production has now ceased globally – leaving hundreds of thousands of crew and cast without jobs. These include electricians, carpenters and drivers, many of whom are paid hourly wages and work on a project-to-project basis. This community has supported Netflix through the good times, and we want to help them through these hard times, especially while governments are still figuring out what economic support they will provide,”said Netflix chief content officer, Ted Sarandos to The Guardian.

4. UK Fintech comes together to help freelancers claim lost income

When Simon Taylor of 11:FS took to Twitter to help UK’s self-employed workers through this current crisis, the UK Fintech community came together quickly—in 48 hours to be precise—to create Covid Credit. What exactly is Covid Credit? It’s a tool that allows self-employed professionals to simply certify the amount of income they have lost due to Covid-19 and prove their income from the past 12 months. It is yet to be government-approved but the tool could be a gamechanger for the self-employed.

And our local heroes continue to go above and beyond to bring comfort to those around them in new and unique ways:

• Doctors have started pinning photos of them smiling to their protective uniforms. Why? With face masks on, they are unable to connect with their patients and maintain some humane sensitivity during this tough time. Remember, one smile can go a long way.
• Clowns without borders UK is taking their funny business online! The organisation usually works with children in refugee camps but is now streaming live so kids in the UK can have a dose of laughter in their living rooms.

Photo: WTTJ

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