People “turning up for funerals” and not following guidelines such as wearing face masks and social distancing were leading to an increase of Covid cases connected to funerals, the Irish Association of Funeral Directors has said.

Mary Cunniffe, spokeswoman for the association, told RTÉ radio's Morning Ireland the group had been disappointed to see the chief medical officer's report on the issue, but the information "did not come as a huge surprise."

Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said earlier this week it was a worrying development that the average daily five-day coronavirus case count is rising, now having reached more than 400 per day.

Hospital Report

“There are examples of small numbers of people congregating for social purposes and simply ignoring the important public health messages,” he said.

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“We are also seeing a number of outbreaks across the country. These include outbreaks in association with funerals. We understand that this is a difficult time for families but it is really important that we do everything we can to avoid the circumstances which promote transmission of the virus.”

Ms Cunniffe saidher association had been working with many groups to ensure that funerals were observed within the boundaries of correct Covid guidelines.

It was unfortunate that there was some noncompliance, she said, with people “turning up to funerals” and not adhering to guidelines with regard to wearing face masks, hand hygiene and observing social distance.

The association is an all-island group with a membership of 342 undertakers and, according to its website, conducts “80 per cent of funerals on the island of Ireland”.

Ms Cunniffe said the funeral directors “strongly recommend” to families to keep details of funeral arrangements to a minimum.

Funeral directors, churches, crematoria, clergy and humanist celebrants were all observing restrictions, she said. But they had no control over occasions such as wakes or to dissuade people from calling to the home of the bereaved.

Ms Cunniffe also expressed concern that some media platforms were publishing details about reposing when such arrangements should not be publicised.

She said there was no pressure on people to attend funerals, there were other ways in which they could extend condolences such as making a telephone call, sending cards or flowers.