You can now "hug" people on Facebook to show support during this chaos

Facebook announced it will roll out new “care” reactions as a way for users to show support for one another during the COVID-19 pandemic, starting April 20.

The company says it will be rolling out the “hug” reaction emoji — a smiley face with its arms wrapped around a heart — this week.

On Facebook, we will launch a seventh Reaction alongside the existing six. The new Care Reaction will start rolling out next week globally and you can use it to react to posts, comments, images, videos, or other content on the app and https://t.co/t0PZL74vjg pic.twitter.com/PkpbCoPc4F

— Alexandru Voica (@alexvoica) April 17, 2020

Users will also have the option to toggle between the regular heart reaction and a new pulsating one.

The new heart addition will also be added to the platform’s Messenger system. In order to update the reaction on Messenger, users simply have to press and hold down the original heart reaction to view the new one.

“We hope these reactions give people additional ways to show their support during the #COVID19 crisis,” said Facebook’s communications manager, Alexandru Voica, in a post announcing the new options.

“We know this is an uncertain time, and we wanted people to be able to show their support in ways that let their friends and family know they are thinking of them.”