This is a love story. It began 50 years ago over apple strudel in Paris, but Howard Smith says he has no time for romantic notions about the past. Right now he’s worried about how the story will end, amid a pandemic https://reut.rs/2VipfQH  1/6

Howard knows exactly how far he is today from his wife, Lois Kittson: 23.7 miles. And he knows exactly how long it has been since he’s seen her: 31 days. Lois has late-stage Alzheimer’s disease 2/6

Lois is a 40-minute drive away at a nursing home north of New York City. They’ve been separated since the city became the epicenter of the coronavirus epidemic in America. On March 11, the nursing home suspended all visits 3/6

For thousands of family members locked out of nursing homes nationwide – some of them unable to obtain regular updates from staff inside – the fate of residents can seem suspended between life and death 4/6

So far, Howard is unaware of any COVID-19 cases at Lois’ nursing home. He is preparing mentally for bad news, though. ‘None of us knows how this is going to turn out,’ he says 5/6

As hundreds of millions of Americans quarantine themselves, separated family members worry about each other in a kind of infinite loop. Just as Howard can’t see his wife, their daughter, Laurel, now 27, can’t see Howard. Read more: http://reut.rs/2VipfQH  @jschney @caitochs 6/6