Liverpool's silent streets erupted into applause at 8pm on Thursday night as people across the city and beyond thanked NHS staff for their tireless work battling coronavirus.
In the city centre, residents in apartment blocks could be seen clapping from their windows while those at the few shops still open stood on the street and joined in.
Outside Royal Liverpool Hospital, UFC fighter Molly McCann cycled from her home to lead a countdown before workers, including Merseyside Police, joined the moment of thanks.
Watching were NHS workers taking a brief rest during the most demanding moment of their careers.
Talking about the guard of honour outside the Royal Hospital, one nurse said: “It has been such an emotional few weeks, and especially these last few days, but feeling that support from everyone means so much and powers us to keep going. We’ll get through this.”
Another nurse also paid tribute to the police officers who turned out to take part and the other emergency services who are continuing to work extremely hard in these challenging circumstances.
She said: “We have always worked closely with police and fire services but for them to come here tonight and thank us was just overwhelming.
“They are working so hard to support us and it means the world to me and all my colleagues.
“Thank you everyone who took part tonight.”
The moment came days after the government ordered the UK to go into lockdown, with people ordered not to leave their homes except for essential reasons such as exercise or buying food.
Many people shared clips of themselves joining in the applause.
Louise Flood tweeted: "I can't explain how emotional that felt. We even got the blue and white NHS Christmas lights up."
Landmarks across Liverpool were also turned blue on Thursday night to thank the dedicated NHS staff working during the coronavirus crisis.
Buildings in the city centre and beyond joined in with the tribute to the National Health Service and the front line staff who have been working tirelessly to fight the COVID-19 virus and look after patients.
The Cunard Building, Liver Building, Town Hall, Liverpool One and St George's Hall were among those involved.
Stunning images of the lights showed Merseyside's solidarity with our hard working health care providers who have stepped up to support the country during the unprecedented pandemic.
Both Liverpool and Everton football clubs joined in, with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thanking health workers for the "unbelievable" job they were doing.
The Light It Blue initiative is a UK wide salute to the NHS during this challenging, unprecedented times around the UK and globe.
And it was just hours after a third patient was confirmed to have died in Merseyside from the deadly COVID-19.
New figures, released by the Department of Health state that 578 people have now passed away from COVID-19 with thousands more testing positive.
An NHS statement also confirmed that 521 of those deaths were in England alone.
Patients were between 32 and 102 years old and all but two patients, aged between 71 and 86 years of age, had underlying health conditions.
Their families have been informed.
A spokesperson for the NHS also confirmed that a third Merseyside patient has also died from coronavirus within the Wirral University Teaching Hospital Trust.
The Department of Health also confirmed that it is changing the way they report deaths related to the virus.
This means that the figures released yesterday are not directly comparable to today, as they did not cover a full 24 hour period.
