Gillions Funeral Services business manager Elizabeth Goodyear said most people were cremated during lockdown, and only a couple of families were waiting for a change in alert levels so they could attend the burial service of loved ones.
“Some have been waiting for either Alert Level 3, or a bit further down the track like Level 2 which will allow 100 people to attend.”
She said the few families who did have loved ones buried or cremated without family in attendance were now looking at holding a memorial service or family gathering once the country moved to lower alert levels.
“Definitely, if we look at what happened last year during lockdown, once we moved back to Level 1, we had quite a few memorial services at that point.’’
Hope and Sons Funeral Directors manager Andrew Maffey said funeral directors were relatively quiet during lockdown because the situation had reduced the death rate.
“It not only reduces Covid, but every other transmissible virus is stopped from moving around.
“Through winter, we’re usually quite busy as a rule, just because a lot of elderly people die of things like pneumonia. But there’s been none of that around.”
He said his business did not carry out any burials during lockdown, but had done two since the move to Level 3 yesterday.
Mr Maffey and Ms Goodyear said families were more accepting of the situation this time around.
“The pain is still just as intense and it is just as difficult, but I think people understand a little more,” Ms Goodyear said.
“It’s amazing how accepting people have been, ” Mr Maffey said.
However, what had been more “tricky” this time was families did not have a clear time-line of how long the lockdown would last.
“The uncertainty of when the levels will change has made things more stressful,” Ms Goodyear said.
The Funeral Directors Association this week welcomed a Government decision to allow family to view bodies, under strict conditions, at funeral homes in Level 4.
