Photos: Lovers find hope in roses, vaccine this V-day
On this Valentine’s Day, Americans are searching for ways to celebrate love amid so much heartache and isolation as the coronavirus pandemic stretches past its year anniversary. Some are clinging to hope, seen in the most vulnerable and frontline workers getting vaccinated, in loosening restrictions on restaurants in the hardest hit places, in case numbers starting to wane. But the death toll is still climbing toward a half-million dead in the United States and many remain shuttered in their homes. Florists are scrambling to keep up with the onslaught of orders from people trying to send their love from a safe distance. “We are crushed,” she said. Phones are ringing off the hook at restaurants in cities that have loosened restrictions on indoor dining just in time for Valentine’s Day, one of the busiest days of the year for many eateries that have been devastated by shutdowns designed to slow the spread of the virus.
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This 2018 photo provided by Cris Charbonneau shows Gil and Mercy Galicia in Beaverton, Ore. The couple have barely left their home since coronavirus lockdowns began, said their daughter, Cris Charbonneau. They had not been able to see their large, close-knit family, three children and six grandchildren spread across the country. Like many seniors, the year has been especially hard on them.( AP)
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Ellen Yun loads Valentine's Day gifts for her mom, sister and brother in-laws, nephew and her two children Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021, outside a Chicago area grocery store. Yun said she had shopped for her husband earlier.( AP)
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A shopper at a Chicago area grocery store looks over Valentine's Day flowers Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021.( AP)
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A shopper at a Chicago area store looks over Valentine's Day cards Saturday, Feb. 13, 2021.( AP)
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