Cuddling After Covid: Excelcare’s Journey from Virtual Hugs to Loving Reunions

The importance of a cuddle is sometimes overlooked It s a simple yet affective act of intimacy that can bring great comfort to a person during difficult times and help to raise a smile

This small sign of affection was put on hold for almost two years, as the Coronavirus pandemic changed the way we all lived our daily lives As well as limiting the places we go and people we see the pandemic also famously stopped us from cuddling our loved ones

Through this time we had to think of other more traditional ways to show our loved ones we care by writing letters sending cards and communicating via video calls to see their smiles

National Hug Day which is celebrated on 21st January each year was also affected during the pandemic and we had to send virtual hugs to our loved ones in place of the real thing This provided some comfort to residents and their loved ones as they received paper hugs from their family members in the mail and saw the wonderful pictures of them creating them on our

Facebook pages However, while it did make the best of an unfortunate situation everyone was in agreement that it couldn't quite compare to the real thing

Fortunately this year has seen vast improvement with restrictions eased and cuddling allowed again Residents and team members knew that they had to seize this returned opportunity and celebrated the day by celebrating the power of the cuddle and the positive impact this can have on a person s day and overall wellbeing

It was a simple way to celebrate this day but an incredibly impactful one, as it helped to spread love and happiness across the family! People were asked to capture these moments in photos and video so they could be shared on social media with the hashtag #CuddlingAfterCovid to show the love that is shared across the family and to try end encourage other to hold their loved on close on this day