Howard and Lois, reunited: Elderly couple separated by virus finally meet again

Howard Smith visits his wife, Lois, a 77-year-old Alzheimer's patient, at the New Paltz Center nursing facility for the first time since lockdowns due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Pine Bush, New York, U.S., May 5, 2020. REUTERS/Caitlin Ochs

NEW PALTZ, New York (Reuters) - For 56 days, the coronavirus pandemic kept Howard Smith apart from Lois Kittson, his wife of half a century. Their separation ended this week with a short but stirring reunion – at a safe distance – outside her nursing home in upstate New York.

Howard, who for years had visited his wife almost every day at the home, was able to meet Lois for 35 minutes Tuesday at the entryway of the New Paltz Center facility where she has lived since 2015 as a late-stage Alzheimer's patient. The visit came with special precautions in the coronavirus era: No touching was allowed. Howard had to wear a mask and stay more than six feet from Lois.