A heartbreaking image has surfaced of an elderly couple at a hospital in Italy embracing as they were reunited after being separated due to coronavirus.

Staffers at Cremona Hospital in the northern Italian region of Lombardy captured the moment the two saw each other for the first time in a month.

In a post on their Facebook page the couple, identified only as Giorgio And Rosa, were reported to have been married for 52 years.

“Giorgio and Rosa have been married for 52 years, even if they seem less to them. He has been hospitalised for Covid pneumonia since 17 March,” the post said.

In the photos, the couple are pictured holding each other’s faces and looking into each other's eyes before embracing tightly.

Although Giorgio was hospitalised with pneumonia doctors said he never complained, but expressed sadness about not being able to go home to see his wife, the post said.

Rosa was admitted to hospital soon after her husband but her condition was not serious and the post said she was quickly discharged.

Staff decided to bring the married couple together as a surprise and the emotional moment ensued.

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“It was one of those encounters you never forget,” said Dr Manuela Denti in the post.

“None of us could hold back the tears.”

Doctors noted that their only regret was that they were not able to resign them together so they could go home and hug their dog Willy.

Italy has over 165,000 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, with more than 21,000 deaths as of Wednesday according to The John Hopkins University.