I was reading about how Louise Troh (girlfriend of Thomas Eric Duncan, first person to die of Ebola in the U.S. a few weeks ago) heard of Duncan's death from her pastor, who had to stand a few feet away and could only console her through crossing his arms over his chest. It's so sad to see how this disease robs us of the consolation of human touch. But it's also remarkable what we do in place of it with just as much affection. You can read more about this and the life in quarantine people are living in here. 
This made me look into sign language, how this can connect and what other emotions look like when we're left to display them from afar.