‘Hug tent’ provides safe embraces at Colorado elderly home

LOUISVILLE, Colo. (AP) — Residents at an assisted living center near Denver are getting a taste of what life was like before the coronavirus pandemic. Sort of. Thanks to a “hug tent” set up outside the suburban facility, residents could embrace and hold hands with their families this week. Visitors were separated by construction-grade plastic but could hug through built-in sleeves attached by embroidery hoops. It wasn’t ideal, but visitors and staff say the benefits are clear. A spokeswoman for the center says some residents haven’t had physical contact with their families in almost a year, and a simple hug was like “a huge weight off their shoulders.”