Covid 19 coronavirus: Grieving families and funeral services 'devastated' at Level 2 restrictions

Dunstall Funeral Services' Michelle and Katherine Dunstall want the Government to keep grieving families in mind in level 2. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay funeral directors are calling level 2 restrictions that allow just 10 people at a funeral "cruel" for families and a slap in the face to their profession.

Dunstall Funeral Services' Michelle Dunstall's and daughter Katherine Dunstall's tales of the 26 funerals they have conducted during level 4 and level 3 make for sobering listening and they say the pain's gone on "too long".

"The Government restricting the funeral attendance numbers to 10 show they don't think we are responsible enough to manage larger gatherings, but that's just what we do," Michelle said.

"We have been doing this for years and we are well aware of how to manage bubbles, seating, and to do it safely."

Terry Longley thinks level 2 restrictions around funerals are ridiculous. Photo / File

Terry Longley & Son's managing director, Shanny Longley, said it would be impossible for families to select 10 people.

Shanny said funerals were "unique" and should not be lumped in with other gatherings.

"They are vital for community health and the consequences for people dealing with unresolved grief has been hugely underestimated.

"The grief and the feeling of being excluded will be so very difficult for many to cope with in the days, weeks, months and lifetimes to follow."

Terry said the Government was undermining funeral directors as healthcare professionals by limiting numbers in level 2.

"This is what we do, it is our job. The Government is essentially saying we're are irresponsible."

Napier's Jeanette Barker, 86, lost her brother and husband four weeks apart, one just before the lockdown and the other during.

Barker told Hawke's Bay Today she lost the two most-loved older men in her life, and it had been very difficult.

"My brother, Reverend Derek Gordon Laws, died on March 22. He was 95," she said.

"The day after his death we were told he couldn't have a funeral or a private cremation, but on March 24 we were told private cremation was possible.

She said it helped having the service livestreamed by Dunstalls so families could virtually attend.

Then her husband of 61 years, Peter Stanley Barker, died in a care home on April 18.

"While the isolation was on, none of the family could see him for three and a half weeks before he died," she said.

"For the first week I couldn't see him at all. Then when I could we had to maintain two metres distance between us," she said.

"In his last week my husband could see his family through Zoom. It was just terrible."

The Funeral Directors Association condemned the level 2 announcement as both cruel and without compassion.

Funeral Directors Association president Gary Taylor said: "This is a cruel and heartless blow to the thousands of New Zealand families who have lost loved ones and is unjustifiable.

"FDA members can be trusted to manage the funeral environment safely and there is no justification for the decision the Government has taken."