It was an emotional day at a Nassau nursing home, with a Hempstead woman able to have her first in-person visit with her mom in nearly an entire year.

The reunion was a grand one, with balloons and applause, as 75-year-old Geraldine Biggs finally got to see her daughter Penelope Riddick at the Nassau Rehabilitation and Nursing Center.

The two had only seen each other with glass or plastic in between them over the past several months.

"I'm on the inside now. I'm not outside the glass," says Riddick. "You see the difference. She's laughing now."

The facility was allowed to open to visitors recently after meeting strict state criteria, including having no COVID-19 cases for 14 consecutive days.

"The response has been really, really amazing. The families are so excited to come in and see their loved ones not through glass or a window or FaceTime, but to come in and reconnect on that personal level really makes it so amazing," says Jacob Blobstein, of Nassau Rehab and Nursing Center.

So far these visits still have to be socially distanced, so that means no touching or hugging allowed.

Visitors do have to schedule an appointment, and visits are limited in time and strict COVID safety protocols are still being followed. That includes a rapid test on site, a temperature check and a questionnaire.

Riddick says it's all worth it though, and her mom agrees.

"Yeah boy -- yeah I'm happy," says Biggs.