Nursing homes, assisted living facilities and other elderly residences battered by covid-19 are easing restrictions and opening their doors for the first time since the start of the pandemic, leading to reunions around the country after a year of isolation, Zoom calls and greetings through windows.
The increase of vaccinations, improved conditions inside nursing homes and relaxed federal guidelines have paved the way for the reunions.
"This is the beginning of the very best to come, hopefully, for all of us," said Gloria Winston, a 94-year-old retirement community resident in Providence, R.I. "The world is going in the right direction. We need the nourishment of each other."
Families say the reopenings are well overdue. Most elderly care residents and many staffers have been fully inoculated for weeks, since they were among the first vaccinated in the nationwide rollout.
Roughly 1.4 million residents and 1 million staffers at long-term care facilities are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Covid-19 cases and deaths in the facilities have also plummeted, from a peak of more than 30,000 cases and 7,000 deaths among residents in one week in December to fewer than 1,300 cases and 500 deaths in all of last week, according to the CDC.
Overall in the U.S., the death toll has topped 542,000. Deaths per day have plummeted to an average of 1,000, down from an all-time high of over 3,400 in mid-January and the lowest level since early November. New cases are running at an average of about 54,000 per day, plunging from a quarter-million per day in early January.
Federal regulators, in recognition of the improving situation, recommended earlier this month that long-term care facilities allow indoor visits at all times.
Covid-19 took a frightening toll in nursing homes and other such institutions. Long-term care residents accounted for more than 130,000 deaths and more than 640,000 cases during the pandemic, according to government data. Staff members accounted for an additional 1,600 deaths and more than 550,000 cases.
In Rhode Island, the first visitors Winston welcomed into the Laurelmead Cooperative since the outbreak started were her great-niece and her 5-year-old great-great-niece.
The three shared a flurry of hugs last week before Cordelia Cappelano, Winston's great-great-niece, retreated, shyly burying her head in her mother's body.
"I think I've had better hugs in my day," Winston teased. "It's as if we're not family anymore."
But after nearly two hours playing and catching up, Cordelia warmed up. She dove into Winston's lap for one last hug before it was time to go.
"To be able to be this close and have Cordelia melt around her has just been wonderful," said Wensday Greenbaum, Winston's great-niece. "It's just a release of all that anxiety and sadness that comes with being isolated. It's been a difficult year, and this is one step closer to normalcy."
In California last week, Celia Olson sat on the patio with her 92-year-old mother, Connie, at the Chaparral House in Berkeley. It was their second time meeting since visits recently resumed at the nursing home.
"This is really nice," Connie Olson said as her daughter placed a blanket over her.
Over the past year, Celia Olson, a 65-year-old veterinarian, was able to see her mother only through a window or via Skype. Now both are vaccinated.
"It's been a year of everybody just being traumatized and trying to understand how to navigate through the coronavirus situation," Celia Olson said.
In Cincinnati last week, Bernie Brungs donned goggles and an N95 mask to hug his 88-year-old mother, Rose, during a special "compassionate care" visit.
Brungs recalled how his mother -- who is paralyzed from the waist down and spends most of her time alone -- cried and told him how much she missed him during their 15 minutes together.
He promised her he would stay longer and play her favorite game -- Yahtzee -- when indoor visits at Ohio nursing homes officially begin today.
"It was wonderful," Brungs said. "The hug I got from her, it was just unimaginable how much it made me feel."
Other states are still reviewing and updating their policies to reflect the new federal guidance.
Many elderly residences say they will be taking a measured approach to reopening their doors, meaning stricter restrictions will probably persist in the short term in many places, to the frustration of families.
In Massachusetts last week, visits at the Hellenic Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Canton, some 20 miles south of Boston, were still limited to sit-downs in the dining room, with guests and residents separated by a clear plastic barrier.
A staffer was on hand to limit encounters to 30 minutes and make sure hugs and other physical contact happened only at the beginning and end of the session.
Anne Darling, who was visiting her 86-year-old mother, Mary Claire Lane, on Thursday, said she hoped the home would loosen its restrictions soon to allow her to bring the family's beloved dog and younger family members.
"We miss her and she misses us," Darling said. "If we could just bring in the little ones, it would just bring a joy to her heart. I know she's well cared for, but it just gets lonely."
Information for this article was contributed by members for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
