In Mexico, Remembrance Bears help COVID-19 victims' families

The human and psychological toll of the coronavirus pandemic hit home for Mexico City clothing designer Irma de la Parra in January, with the death of a longtime friend of she and her husband from COVID-19

MEXICO CITY -- The human and psychological toll of the coronavirus pandemic hit home for Mexico City clothing designer Irma de la Parra in January, with the death of a longtime friend from COVID-19. Mexican hospitals usually don’t let family members visit their dying relatives, because of tightly packed hospital wards, a shortage of personal protective equipment and fear of spreading the infection. After her experience, she learned of many families who had never been able to say one last word, or give one last hug, to friends and relatives. So she decided to make a way for them to give endless hugs. “We were overwhelmed with sadness because we knew him (her and her husband's friend) since we were very young, and he was a very good person,” De la Parra said of Martín Elizalde, 53, who died Jan. 10. “I said, how is it possible that none of us, not even his family, could see him again?”