A heartbreaking photo of a grandfather meeting his newborn grandson for the first time has gone viral, showing the tragic sacrifices that are being made in the name of social distancing.
The picture, which was recently, shared on social media, shows the elderly man gazing at the baby through a closed window and unable to hold him while being forced to keep his distance during the coronavirus outbreak.
Emma Gallachoir posted the photo of her brother Míchéal holding his newborn son Faolán up to the window on Twitter.
“Three generations of social distancing as my dad meets his grandson for the first time,” Gall wrote alongside the picture.
The Meath, Ireland native wasn’t there to take the picture herself, but was actually sent the photo by her sister-in-law.
New dad Míchéal revealed his son was born March 14, right when Irish health officials began urging social distancing to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
As he told TODAY , upon leaving the hospital he and his wife were instructed not to come into contact with anyone.
Of course, that wasn’t going to stop this proud new grandfather from meeting his newborn grandson, even if just through a window.
Míchéal’s father lives closeby, so he came over this past weekend to get a look at the newest member of the Gallachoir family.
Although he was only able to gaze at baby Faolán through the window, he still shared a tender moment with both his son and grandson.
And once it’s safe to do so, Emma told the Independent her dad plans on having a “big cuddle” with little Faolán.
In just a matter of days, Emma’s Twitter photo has gone viral, racking up over 96,000 likes and 700,000 retweets.
Judging from the comments, it’s clear that the photo has struck a particularly emotional chord with people.
“Oh, man, this is heartbreaking,” this user wrote. “But on the other hand, beautiful, and congratulations! A million blessings on your son.”
Other users shared their own stories of the strain self-isolation has placed on their families.
“Thank you for posting this,” one user commented. “I’m expecting my first baby very soon and have been absolutely dreading this.”
Another shared, “My first grandchild is almost 2 weeks old, we did have the luxury of cuddles before this escalated but FaceTime is a God send! Also hoping for some fresh air walks together – but apart. I encourage my daughter to try to see it as precious time to bond with her gorgeous baby.”
In response to concerned messages about her father, Emma has since sent out a follow-up tweet confirming her father is “doing well.”
She also added that he is “completely oblivious to his new fame.”
“He wouldn’t let me take a pic of him but he’s smiling,” Emma wrote. “He is looking forward to holding the baby soon.”
Ireland has recently introduced stronger measures to combat the COVID-19 outbreak and to limit its spread.
As the BBC reported, Irish Prime Minister Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is asking people to only leave home for work if it is essential, to shop for essential supplies, to exercise, or to care for those who are vulnerable.
As of writing, the country has confirmed 1,125 coronavirus cases and six people have died.
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h/t: TODAY , Independent , BBC
