The action of a doctor in Texas who embraces a desperate elderly COVID-19 patient has sparked emotion. The moment of the warm hug was caught on camera and went viral.

As reported by AFP, the doctor named is Joseph Varon. Meanwhile, the elderly that he was hugging is a man who looked desperate when he was treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

The white-haired man looks so sad before Thanksgiving Day.

The photo was caught on camera by photographer Getty Images and gone viral in the world.

Varon, the chief of staff at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston told CNN that he was entering the COVID-19 room when he saw an elderly patient “getting out of bed and trying to get out of the room.”

“And he cried,” said Varon. “So I approached him and I (asked) him, ‘Why are you crying?’ And the man said that he wants to be with his wife. So I embrace him,” said Varon.

“I feel very sorry for him. Finally, he felt better and stopped crying,” Varon told as cited News24xx.com from CNN.

Varon also admitted that he had not given up hope. “I don’t know why I haven’t given up hope. My nurse was crying in the middle of the day,” he said.

Varon also advised the public not to take preventive measures in the midst of a pandemic.

“People out there, in bars, restaurants, malls,” said the doctor. “This is crazy. People don’t listen, and then they end up in my ICU,” he added.

He reminded people to applied health protocols, which always consisted of keeping a distance, washing hands, and wearing masks.