A woman in a care home who was kept apart from her husband due to the pandemic has finally been reunited with her partner.

Chorleywood Beaumont care home in Chorleywood are now able to reunite families as one single-named visitor is allowed to visit each resident in their bedroom.

It comes after government guidance was issued on March 4 allowing care homes to accept a single visitor under strict conditions.

Lucia, a resident at the home, was grateful as she was finally able to meet up with her husband in person.

She said: “The staff here have been so wonderful supporting me to use video calls and creating the visiting suite so I could keep in touch with my family, but nothing beats seeing my husband in the comfort of my bedroom.

“This was a special moment, I was over the moon, and although I was looking forward to our first kiss after such a long time, I knew I had to wait just a little bit longer.”

Lucia has to wait before the couple can physically kiss again

Lucia has to wait before the couple can physically kiss again

All visitors permitted inside are required to have a negative Lateral Flow Device test before being allowed to enter the home, and social distancing measures remain in place.

Although hand holding is allowed, it is generally not recommended as the care home pushes for a Covid-secure setting.

Despite the restrictions in place, it was still welcome news for many families and residents to catch up face-to-face.

Regional director Wayne Hughes said: “This is the first cautious step towards having a buzz of visitors in the home again. It was wonderful to see how happy it made the residents and their relatives.

“We have a great booking system in place to ensure the visits are well organised, and visitors are doing a great job of following the safety measures to keep everyone as safe as possible. For those that are not able to come inside the home we are pleased to be able to continue to offer visits in our visiting suites or outdoors when the weather allows.”