Coronavirus: Directors advise against handshaking, hugging at funerals

Funerals arrangements should not be advertised during the coronavirus pandemic and there should be no handshaking or hugging at services, the Irish Association of Funeral Directors has said.

The association, members of which run more than three quarters of the funerals in the State annually, said it had been “inundated” with calls from bereaved families in recent weeks.

It said it was "acutely aware" of the distress felt by families seeking advice about how burials and cremations will proceed during the outbreak. Health Service Executive (HSE) guidelines advise funerals should be held privately with only family and close friends present, the association said.

“There should be no provision for a condolence book and pen at the funeral and public reposing must be discouraged as should funeral home gatherings. Family gatherings should be by invite only and attendance restricted to below 100.”

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The association said people attending funerals should observe social distancing by keeping 2m apart “with no handshaking or hugging”.

There should also be no public advertisement of funeral arrangements and death notices should be placed without details of the funeral service, it said. Families could personally advise relatives and close friends of the details, the association said.

The association is an all-island group with a membership of 342 undertakers.

Saying goodbye

Colm Kieran, an undertaker and spokesman for the group, said directors were "more mindful and sensitive than ever" to the pain felt by bereaved families trying to "say goodbye under these restricted circumstances".

“We do not wish to alarm the public or add to the trauma that grieving families may be suffering nor does this mean that the standard of our care or quality of our service is diminished,” he said.

Earlier this month the association announced stark measures for the funerals of those who died from the coronavirus, also known as Covid-19. These stated that all funeral services for coronavirus victims should be postponed and the deceased brought straight to the crematorium or cemetery for committal.

The association’s guidelines had said the deceased “should always be removed from the place of death in a body bag which is not reopened”.

These measures were rolled back following clarification and guidance from the HSE, which instructed funeral services should take place but under strictly controlled conditions.

The HSE guidelines stated that families would be able to say goodbye to the deceased in the coffin but they would not be allowed to kiss the person.

A community in west Kerry on Thursday lined a road for 2km along a funeral procession route due to the restrictions on attending church services and holding wakes. The line of people followed social distancing rules as the hearse drove past, and a video of the gesture was widely shared on social media.