WATCH | Man invents 'cuddle curtain' so he can give granny a 'socially distant' Covid-19 hug

Antony Cauvin, a 29-year old man from Stratford-upon-Avon in England, created a "cuddle curtain" so he can safely hug his grandmother whom he had not seen in months.

This as people are encouraged to avoid physical contact to prevent and minimise the spread of the potentially deadly Covid-19 virus.

A video shared on Facebook by Cauvin's wife, Mariam, shows his grandmother, Lily, put on long plastic gloves before she runs towards the transparent jacket-like curtain to hug her grandson. The curtain is made from see-through shower curtain and has two sets of sleeves, top and bottom. 

“Put your arms in the bottom one, and I'll put my arms in the top one,” Cauvin says in the video before hugging his emotional grandmother.

“How amazing is this? I made the design with you in mind so I can give you a hug without touching you, but it feels like I am touching you.” 

He told Sky News that he tested the cuddle curtain with his wife before using it on his grandmother.

“Last weekend I decided to buy all the materials and I planned it myself. Then I bought shoulder length sleeves, which I could fix by putting the holes through the plastic and  taping them up. You put your arms through and wrap your arms around the other person.”

Cauvin left the curtain at his grandparents' home so other family members can use it, provided they wear gloves and disinfect it for extra safety. He believes in social distancing and avoiding behaviour that may put others at risk.

With millions having viewed the video on social media, Cauvin's invention is dominating news headlines, something he described as “the icing on the cake”.