Video calls, no hugs and no chocolates: How mother’s day will change forever after COVID-19 pandemic

Families are settling in for a very different type of Mother’s Day next weekend as social distancing measures remain in place across the country.

Dining out, large public gatherings and hugs between family members are likely to disappear entirely for families who don’t live together because of COVID-19.

The Public Health Association of Australia believes gift-giving like boxes of chocolates or flowers won’t pose a health risk but people will become more creative when it comes to showing they care.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has urged families to avoid face-to-face meetings and connect with their mothers or grandmothers via video chat or through the delivery of flowers or ‘special goodies’.

Dining out, large public gatherings and hugs between family members are likely to disappear entirely for families who don’t live together because of COVID-19 (PICTURED: A mother and daughter embrace after being released from 14 days isolation at  a Sydney hotel)

PHA chief executive Terry Slevin told Daily Mail Australia people shouldn’t expect to celebrate the way they have in previous years.

‘For Mother’s Day 2020 we won’t all be going out to a local restaurant for a big lunch or big family gatherings in public spaces… but we’ll be finding other ways of expressing that. I’m sure Zoom will go into meltdown,’ Mr Slevin said. 

‘In some cases it might mean people getting creative – sending video messages, making use of the technologies we have got and how we can express how we love each other. My son is writing a song and recording it on video and sending it to his mum,’ Mr Slevin said. 

But he said some normalcy will remain.

‘Delivering of flowers and a box of chocolates… That’s not going to hinder those options. If you’ve been sending your mum a bunch of flowers to your mum every Mother’s Day for the last 30 years there is no reason not to this year,’ he said.

‘The transport sector has been conscious about these issues and there has been heightened recognition of hygiene, hand washing and the like but caution at the receiving end is good as well. So, wiping down, boxes and packages, and treating them in a hygienic way.’ 

Mr Slevin admitted it was impossible to see what celebrations for 2021 would look like, but agreed some of the ways people celebrate this year could become more commonplace. 

The Public Health Association of Australia believes gift-giving like boxes of chocolates or flowers won’t pose a health risk but people will become more creative when it comes to showing they care (PICTURED: a woman receives flowers after being released from 14 day isolation in Sydney)

‘Nobody has the perfect crystal ball and we’re dealing with this one week at a time. There will be a new normal… there will be a variety of changes that will last well beyond 2020 when it comes to the impact of COVID-19 and we still haven’t figured out what those things are,’ he said.

‘As we all get better at new technologies there is a greater capacity to stay in touch. We have all learned new tricks about how we communicate with each other and I’m quit sure that will be a feature of Mother’s day well beyond COVID-19.’ 

While restaurants and cafes have experienced a drop in demand, one sector appears to be experiencing a resurgence.

The flower industry was hit hard in the first week of the coronavirus restrictions when weddings and corporate functions had to be cancelled nationwide. 

Growers like Joe Oliveri from Oliveri Flowers on the New South Wales Central Coast told ABC news he was forced to dump $20,000 worth of flowers last month because no one was buying them. 

‘For Mother’s Day 2020 we won’t all be going out to a local restaurant for a big lunch or big family gatherings in public spaces… but we’ll be finding other ways of expressing that. I’m sure Zoom will go into meltdown,’ Mr Slevin said

While Van Gogh Flowers at Hawthorn in Melbourne’s Eastern suburbs saw an 80 per cent drop in sales in the first week because of COVID-19.

Director Tony Pavlou told Daily Mail Australia they’re now seeing supplies fly off the shelves so fast they can’t keep up with demand.  

‘Because people couldn’t visit we saw a surge in people wanting to express themselves through flowers. A lot of that was driven by guilt,’ Mr Pavlou said.

‘We’re struggling. People are just going Gung-ho at the moment and there is just a chronic shortage of flowers which is unprecedented which the local growers cant keep up with because of the lack of imports,’ Mr Pavlou said.

Mr Pavlou said the health and hygiene measures surrounding the industry means they are confident flower deliveries will enable Australians to show their mums they care this Mother’s Day. 

‘There has never been any outbreak historically of any viruses or bacteria. We have very stringent agricultural inspections when product comes into the country. The risk of any virus coming through on our plant matter is virtually zero,’ he said.

Millions of Australians have been told to stay away from their families this Mothers’ Day despite the country crushing the coronavirus curve.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews encouraged families to speak with their mothers and grandmothers on Sunday, May 10, by tuning into a video chat rather than meeting face-to-face. 

Mr Andrews indicated tough restrictions introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 would not be lifted in Victoria before May 11, when a state of emergency comes to an end.  

Just like the Easter long weekend and Anzac Day, Mr Andrews said Mothers’ Day ‘needs to be very different this year’.

Millions of Australians have been told to stay away from their families this Mothers’ Day despite crushing the coronavirus curve

‘We all want to be together, but the only way to get through this crisis is to work together,’ he told The Herald Sun.

‘I know we all just want to give our mum a hug.’

Mr Andrews recommended virtually marking the occasion, and added life can return to normal sooner if all Victorians ‘do the right thing’. 

‘Catch up with your mum over a video call. Support a local business and send her flowers or some special goodies – that’s what I’ll be doing,’ he said. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will meet with state and territory leaders on Friday morning for the National Cabinet.

There will be no immediate action to change the national baseline restrictions until May 11 but some states or territories can look to loosen their own measures.   

Western Australia was the first to move on Monday when it began to relax its social distancing measures.

Groups of 10 people are now allowed to gather to exercise, and for weddings and funerals.

Open home inspections have started up again, and the state is forcing its hospitality workers to complete a COVID-19 hygiene course as it prepares to reopen bars and eateries.

NSW, which has the nation’s highest number of cases, will modestly ease its social contact restrictions on Friday, and Queensland will follow on Saturday.

In the Northern Territory, outdoor weddings and funerals will be allowed from Friday, and restaurants and bars will open again on May 15, but with a two-hour time limit.