WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. — Many families across Florida who have been separated from their loved ones in long term-care facilities for nearly six months got the news that visitors will again be allowed in nursing homes, as long as the strict COVID-19 guidelines in place are met. It is a new emergency order is allowing limited visitors, with strict safety rules in place.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday he would sign an executive order allowing limited access to long-term care facilities for the first time since they were closed to outsiders to protect residents during the coronavirus pandemic.

General visitors will need to sign a consent form and practice physical distancing from staff and residents.​ Long-term care facilities are working on these new procedures, and the order will be implemented in the coming days.

The news brought cheers and calls for dancing from one youngster in Winter Springs.

“Kinsley, do you want to hear what happened today?” Tiffany Lytle asked her 6-year-old daughter. “The governor decided that we can go in to see Yaya!

“Yay!” Kinsey cheered, as she ran across the room in a pure expression of joy.

Tiffany Lytle’s mother resides at Arden Court in Winter Springs.

When Lytle was asked what she would do when she saw her mother, Kinsey answered.

“Dance!”

“Dance? Kinsley said dance,” Lytle said. “Dance, and it would be nice if we could hug her, but I don’t know how soon we’re going to be able to do that.”

Kinsley cannot wait for more hugs, more story time, and more quality time with Yaya.

But for Lytle, unlike her daughter, the excitement comes cautiously.

Cautious optimism is what she got used to every time her mom asked, “When?”

“I tell her, ‘It’s not gonna be long, Mom. It’s just going to be a few more weeks.’ But it’s painful to hear them cry and wonder why aren’t we coming. Why can’t we visit? They don’t understand.”

For some families with loved ones in the finals days of their lives, Ron DeSantis knows it has been even tougher to understand.

“They have loved ones in the last stage of their life,” DeSantis said. “They’re not demanding a medical miracle. They’re not having unrealistic expectations. They just would like to be able to say goodbye or to hug somebody so ... it was ...”

DeSantis lost his words, when thinking about those who lost their loved ones during the pandemic. He has been meeting with a task force on a safe way to reopen the facilities so family members can be reunited.

So as Lytle looks back on pre-pandemic pictures with her Mom, she said she feels lucky she’ll have the chance to add more memories to her camera roll.

“When I found out today, I just started crying, you know?” Lytle said. “It’s just what that we’ve been waiting for a long time.”

“Are you happy crying?” Kinsey asked her mom.

“Yes, I’m happy crying,” Lytle said.

Long-term care facilities have to be free of COVID-19 cases for 14 days before they allow visitors.

When visitors come, they are expected to bring their own personal protection equipment, and they must follow the facility’s health requirement.

More specific details still must be released, and some families still have mixed feelings. But those who have been looking forward to seeing loved ones again say this is a start.​

Reporter Justin Soto contributed to this story.