Covid 19 coronavirus: Bay funeral director thrilled at Govt's u-turn

Hawke's Bay funeral services say they are "thrilled" at the news of the Government's announcement of increasing the number of people allowed to attend funerals under lockdown level 2.

Health Minister David Clark announced on Tuesday that up to 50 people can farewell their loved ones as long as a range of public health measures can consistently be met.

Terry Longley jnr, of Terry Longley and Son Funeral Services, said the move was an "amazing step forward" and came earlier than expected.

The Government had come under increasing pressure since announcing on Monday that restaurants and sports events could have up to 100 people, but funerals and places of worship would remain restricted to 10 as under Level 2.

"Many funeral services voiced their frustration after Monday's announcement and it's just nice to have seen everyone come together to push that change," he said.

"It's a big difference having 50 people compared to 10, so we are very excited and have already had families contacting us wanting to have a larger service."

Funeral directors will need to fill out a form to register funerals of more than 10 people with the Ministry of Health and declare that health requirements have been met.

"From the looks of the layout, it doesn't seem like it will be overly complicated, it's just important that families are able to have more loved ones with them during these services," Longley said.