Dr. Donald Yealy, UPMC emergency department chairman, won’t be able to see his mother on Mother’s Day because he lives 300 miles away.

But Yealy said those who live closer to mom shouldn’t have to miss special time as long as they practice basic hygiene and as long as their mother isn’t susceptible to catching COVID-19.

“We should be able to celebrate important occasions,” Yealy said. “This weekend we have an important one — Mother’s Day. I won’t be able to see my mom. She lives 300 miles away. But I’ll miss her. If she was nearby, I would want to be able safely interact with her. … With a few exceptions, you can go out and share some of that special time, if you’re careful. You can do that this weekend. You can do it moving forward.”

Yealy’s comments came during a news conference Thursday during which he discussed UPMC’s position that it’s time to begin reopening society in the communities UPMC serves, including the Jamestown area, because the curve of COVID-19 cases has been flattened and the UPMC system is now equipped to handle both COVID-19 cases and its regular slate of care offerings.

His musings on celebrating Mother’s Day sparked the most questions from reporters, however, about how to do so while remaining within orders from governors asking people to stay at home or limit travel to essential travel. Reporters asked if visiting one’s mother would be considered essential travel. Yealey said small group visits among families shouldn’t violate government mandates as long as the groups are visiting with their mother with appropriate social distancing and take the usual hygienic precautions.

Yealy recommended remaining socially distant in small groups, people washing their hands frequently and using hand sanitizer and not visiting if anyone in the group is sick.

“I don’t think I’m saying break the stay-at-home,” Yealy said. “I’m saying visit with your mother in a small group with appropriate distancing and all the usual hygiene precautions makes a lot of sense. I don’t think going against the current governmental recommendations make a lot of sense at all. We can do this smartly, particularly if your mom isn’t frail, in a nursing home or have underlying immunosuppression. You can do those kind of things. There are measured steps that make a lot of sense and can keep everybody safe and help us deal with some of the social isolation that has real consequences.”