A Hudson Valley husband and wife who've been apart because of the pandemic finally got the chance to experience an emotional reunion.

Michele Denenberg, of Loch Sheldrake in Sullivan County, saw her husband face-to-face and held his hand for the first-time last week since the pandemic at Valley View Nursing Home in Goshen.

Before that, Denenberg says she visited through a window or by Zoom.

"I can't describe it. When I knew I was going in there that afternoon that's all I thought about all day until I got there. I actually jumped in my car the minute they called and said, 'Whatever time you need me, I'm there,'" says Denenberg.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed the Compassionate Caregiver Act Monday, allowing nursing home residents a designated visitor, regardless of any COVID-19 restrictions.