Coronavirus

Heartbreaking Photos Show Elderly Couple Separated by Virus Quarantine

The husband is stuck in quarantine at his long-term care facility in a hot spot in the U.S. coronavirus outbreak

Charlie Campbell a retired RN from Silver City, New Mexico, takes his mom Dorothy Campbell, 88, of Bothell to see her husband Gene Campbell, 89, through his room window on March 5, 2020 at the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington where multiple cases of COVID-19 have been linked and some patients have died.
Photo by Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images

Dorothy Campbell, 88, looked through a window on Thursday at her husband of more than 60 years, Gene Campbell.

Her son, Charlie Campbell, a retired nurse from New Mexico, had taken her to visit her husband who is in isolation in his nursing home.

The Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, has become somewhat of the epicenter of the state's coronavirus outbreak. According to the King County Public Health Department, at least four elderly residents of the long-term care facility have died from coronavirus COVID-19.

Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak

Outside the building on Thursday, other families held a rally and press conference to air their concerns about the facility.

Kevin Connolly, whose father-in-law is a resident at Life Care Center, speaks during a press conference held by family of residents of the nursing home, where some patients have died from COVID-19, in Kirkland, Washington on March 5, 2020.
Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images

"We have been complaining for days about the lack of information," Kevin Connolly, whose father-in-law is a resident at the center, told local NBC affiliate KING. He added many families had learned about the outbreak on the news.

Charlie Campbell a retired RN from Silver City, New Mexico, accompanies his mom Dorothy Campbell, 88, of Bothell to see her husband Gene Campbell, 89, through his room window on March 5, 2020 at the Life Care Center nursing home in Kirkland, Washington where multiple cases of COVID-19 have been linked and some patients have died.
Jason Redmond / AFP via Getty Images

Dorothy Campbell wore slippers and used a cane with help from her son to visit with Gene; the couple talked through phones at the window. Dorothy lives in Bothell, Washington — about 8 miles north of where her husband stays in long-term care.

Life Care Center issued a statement on Thursday, saying staff is "continuing to provide care for our residents, the facility's highest priority, and our associates, who are our greatest resource in delivering the care."

"We grieve with the families who have lost loved ones; people who were important members of our professional family," Beecher Hunter, the president of Life Care Centers of America, said the statement. "Life is sacred and precious, and when it is lost, a little bit of those in their circle of friends dies with them."

Washington state officials announced Thursday that 10 people have died from COVID-19 and that 70 cases have been confirmed.

This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY:

Copyright Today Digital Originals
Contact Us