One of the toughest challenges of the COVID-19 crisis is that we can't hug our loved ones, especially the elderly who may be in nursing or retirement homes. Thanks to enterprising individuals around the world, the "cuddle curtain" is restoring the art of hugging while obeying infectious disease safety guidelines.

According to CNBC, the plastic curtains with strategically placed arm holes allow people to embrace without direct contact. Elderly residents in retirement homes said that they could hug their relatives for the first time in months thanks to the makeshift invention that many people are fashioning using ordinary plastic shower curtains.

CNBC noted that one woman said the curtain was "the most beautiful invention" she had ever seen and cried the first time she hugged her daughter.

ABC News reports that COVID-19 has forced many family members to end visits to parents and grandparents or stop visiting older loved ones in facilities. Experts said that the physical distancing is causing a sad side effect of the disease: loneliness.

Hopefully, the "cuddle curtain" will help families stay literally in touch during lockdown. Here's a video showing how to make your own.