Keep Everyone Safe, Let's All Get Together Soon

My grandma had her 96th birthday this past Monday. 96th! And there was nothing we could do to celebrate it alongside her. Luckily I was able to arrange a FaceTime with her recreation staff -- I have not been able to FaceTime with her since the 2nd, more than 3 weeks ago. it's tough because the staff are only able to coordinate FaceTime with the residents during weekdays 9 to 5...and guess when my shifts are?! (Thankfully a new schedule season is starting up soon and I have arranged for compressed workweeks so I should be able to see her at least every other week.) I told her it's her birthday, but I don't think she really registered that that's a thing, or maybe she just figured we'll celebrate it together when we have a free moment. Embarrassingly she had to tell me not to cry; I don't want her to worry but I miss seeing her in person and I always fear she'll think she has been abandoned. She coughed a couple of times which of course caused a bit of concern as I watched her through the screen of my phone. But she seemed to be in fairly good spirits. The staff were wearing masks though that's pretty common now. Her care facility was still COVID free so I felt grateful that my grandma and all her fellow residents were safe and healthy. Mom sent us kids a Facebook message today to have a good day -- and, oh yeah, -- grandma's caregivers had called asking for permission to have grandma tested for COVID. They are testing her whole wing, so it sounded like a good proactive precaution. Cue to a few hours later and mom sees on the news, as does Weird Kid, that grandma's facility is listed by the province as having a covid outbreak. You think the care staff would have been more up front with mom?! So today I have been a mess. Every time I had a break during work I would think about grandma and worry. What if the cough she had is more of a worry than they had let on? What are they going to do to prevent further spread? I already feel like I'm letting dad down by being unable to check on grandma more often than I have been. I do not want her being sick and alone. I let the family circle know what is happening with her...not because I enjoy being dramatic but I did not want to shoulder this worry on my own, but although their prayers and well wishes help to comfort me they also just feed into my worrying cycle. I hope the outbreak is contained and spares all the other residents and staff and that even though the wait is looooooong we will all be able to see and hug one another again.