Since the Covid-19 outbreak began, French care home resident Colette Dupas's contact with her daughters had been limited to talking via video call, or through a window.
But now the 97-year-old has been able to feel their touch, thanks to an inflatable tunnel and two plastic sleeves. The "hug bubble" allows care home residents, isolated from the outside world to avoid catching the virus, to hold hands and embrace their visiting relatives, because at all times they are separated by a hermetically-sealed plastic film.
Dupas ran a bakery in Boussois, 6km from the nursing home, until her retirement. Her family still run the business. During the encounter with her daughters on Friday, Dupas entered through one end of the tunnel.