NHS workers on the frontline of the battle against coronavirus have thanked the public for their support in a television message broadcast to mark the fourth weekly round of applause for those working in health and social care.

Across the past month, millions of people across the UK have thrown open their doors and windows and joined in applause and cheers to show gratitude to health workers as part of the Clap for our Carers campaign.

The fourth weekly event was followed by a show of thanks from NHS workers in a clip broadcast on ITV.

In the video, aired at 8.02pm, the medics say: “We are working tirelessly to fight off an invisible enemy, but we are not alone. We hear you. The clapping echoes through every hospital.

“Your support every week reminds us that we are all in this together, so thank you. And from the bottom of our hearts, thank you for staying home."

The NHS staff also thanked the public for staying at home and appealed for them reach out to one another to mitigate the mental strain caused by isolation.

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"We know it is not easy to live in confinement – even if it’s your own home. Especially as time passes and the weather is getting better," they said.

“But we have one more favour to ask you. ‘We are facing another threat in our isolation, a threat to everyone’s mental wellness. Place stay at home, but stay in touch. ‘Remember to talk to each other.

“We might be apart, but we are not alone. Call a friend, call your family, call a helpline, keep communicating.”

Downing Street said Boris Johnson, who is recovering from coronavirus at his Chequers retreat, had "joined in the clap for carers this evening to say thank you for the incredible efforts of the country's doctors, nurses and care workers".

His pregnant fiancee, Carrie Symonds, tweeted she was "clapping harder than ever tonight" to thank healthcare workers who treated the PM and for 99-year-old Captain Tom Moore, who has raised more than £17m for the NHS.

Politicians around the UK took to their doorsteps to show support for healthcare workers, including Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon, chancellor Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Dominic Raab.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: "Every week as millions of us stand on our doorsteps to clap our carers and key workers it is an emotional moment of profound thanks to those who are keeping our country going, putting their health and lives at risk for others."

Conservative MP for Chelsea and Fulham Greg Hands said the clap was "especially poignant" following the death of his father in a care home on Monday due to pneumonia brought on by Covid-19.

He said: "My father is another care home Covid death, but I remember him as a brilliant grammar school scientist, a single-minded and determined man, worked his way out of poverty, fought hard and gave his best. He will be sorely missed."

The fourth week of applause came NHS workers who have died after contracting the virus continues to rise - with pregnant nurse Mary Agyeiwaa Agyapong, 28, among those who have lost their lives this week.