Quandary

Yesterday, I received an email from the long-term care institution where my brother lives. It pertained to changes in the protocol that visitors must follow to prevent the risk of COVID transmission. It was good to see that these rules are being relaxed and will allow residents to have a more natural interaction with more visitors.

The first item on the list of changes reads as follows:

“Fully vaccinated essential visitors (whose second vaccine was more than 14 days ago) no longer need to wear face shields, may hug their loved one, may hold their loved one's hand.”

We have all felt “hugged deprived” during this pandemic and I cannot but feel joy at the thought that these residents will finally be able to receive the healing goodness of a bear hug and of a gentle touch of the hand.

I think it will take quite a bit of time though for us to feel completely comfortable with something that was so natural and taken for granted before the pandemic. Indeed, even the email I received contained an indication of that. One of the listed changes stated:

“Outdoor visitors do not require a rapid test but must wear a face mask and maintain physical distance. “

I could not help but wonder how one gives a hug to someone or holds their hands while maintaining physical distancing. Rita, my sister-in-law, used the word “quandary” to describe the obvious contradiction here. What I find surprising is that those who drafted this set of changes to the rules did not see the contradiction. I suspect this may be because this quandary is not just logical but will be part of our psychological makeup for a long while even when all restrictions have been lifted.