Covid 19 coronavirus: Funeral directors say level 2, 50-person limit unfair

Osbornes Funeral Home director Richard Fullard says making families pick 10 people to attend a funeral is unfair. Photo / File

Funeral directors are calling for a fairer approach to gatherings and calling out a "flip-flop" approach which is leaving grieving families in emotional turmoil.

The Government announced this week up to 50 people could attend funerals and tangi, under alert level 2, up from the 10 initially announced.

Funeral Directors Association president Gary Taylor said on Monday the 10-person limit was a "cruel and heartless blow".

Funeral Directors Association president Gary Taylor says 50 is a number they "can work with for now". Photo / File

The association welcomed the change of hear. Taylor said 50 was a number they "can work with for now".

Osborne Funeral Home director Richard Fullard said a blanket approach to numbers for gatherings would have been fairer.

"There's no reason why a funeral should be singled out and treated any different than a whole lot of people coming together for the movies."

He said while 50 was better than 10, it was still a difficult conversation to have with families.

Osbornes Funeral Home director Richard Fullard says making families pick 10 people to attend a funeral is unfair. Photo / File

"Dealing with a sudden death is tough enough let alone having to jump through hoops just to be surrounded by your whānau and friends."

He said families were forced to pick and choose who should attend funerals.

"There really should be no limit on the number of people who gather together in a funeral sense."

Rotorua man Kris Wills' aunt, Helen Wills, died on the last day of level 3 and he said having a tangihanga under the restrictions was "very hard".

Wills visited his dying aunt on Tuesday and the family rotated two people at a time to see her, the rest stood outside, singing karakia and songs.

"That was our way of saying goodbye."

His aunt's wishes were to be buried with her mother but, as she was not embalmed, the family had 24 hours to hold a service before cremating her.

Helen Mills died on the last day of level 3 and her whānau found the level-2 limit of 50 for a tangihanga difficult. Photo / Supplied

The service was held yesterday at his uncle's house; a Covid register was signed by all mourners for contact tracing and to keep count of the numbers.

"By having a small initial gathering ... it allows us to put things on hold for a while and we can have a proper ceremony later on."

Cars outside the home attracted police, but Wills said they were respectful when approaching the family to see what was going on.

Wills said the family understood the decision the Government made and praised their swift changes after listening to the concerns of people.

"[Ardern] was just trying to protect our whānau that are still alive."

Tauranga-based Hope Family Funeral Services director Tony Hope says the "flip-flop" approach to funerals was playing with people's minds.

He said while the new limit of 50 was doable, the restrictions and requirements which now needed to be met did not add up to the regulations around people meeting in a restaurant or movie theatre.

Tauranga-based Hope Family Funeral Services director Tony Hope says the "flip-flop" approach to funerals was playing with people's minds. Photo / George Novak

"The flip-flop over the last 10 days, it's been catastrophic for grieving families."

He said he understood this was being done to save thousands of lives, but restrictions created emotional turmoil.

Health Minister David Clark says New Zealand clusters have come from events where people mix and mingle. Photo / File

Health Minister David Clark said the virus was seen to spread at funerals around the world.

A funeral of 100 people in the United States led to an outbreak resulting in 30 deaths, three funerals in South Africa led to 200 cases, and 143 cases in Canada have been linked to one funeral home.

A Ministry of Health spokeswoman said funerals were classed as exceptional events under level 2.

Groups of up to 50 mourners are able to attend a funeral or tangi providing the event is well managed and infection prevention control measures are met.

The venue can be a church, or for example, a mosque, marae, community hall or private home.

A police media spokeswoman said the police would continue to take an education-first approach to enforcing current restrictions and work with families, iwi, businesses and community groups to ensure public safety.

Funerals and tangihanga at Level 2

• Up to 50 people can attend.
• Funeral directors register with the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health must be satisfied a range of public health measures can consistently be met.
• Public health measures include maintaining physical distance, hand hygiene facilities.
• Food and drink is allowed: groups of no more than 10 people eating together, individual portions, no alcohol.
Source - Unite Against Covid-19 website.