Grandma is gone: Coronavirus keeps kids from older family

“Looking at them through the window and not being able hug them, it’s just a dang killer,” she said.

For grandparents all over the world, being protected from the pandemic has meant a piercing distance from their loved ones. While children don’t seem to be getting seriously ill as often, they can be infected and spread the virus. It’s been a jolting change for many.

Cameron and her husband, both retired teachers, usually watch their older grandchildren, aged 8 and 11, after school and their 7-month-old baby grandson four times a week. One of their three daughters is due to have another child in July.

But as the effects of coronavirus spread, the family decided that caring for the boys was too risky.