Faith matters in funerals while adhering to official guidelines

by LAUREN CODLING

FAITH leaders have revealed how they are coping with funerals amid the Covid-19 pandemic, as restrictions mean many are unable to perform traditional religious rituals.

In view of the strict measures implemented by the government in recent weeks to contain the spread of coronavirus, funeral directors and faith leaders have been advised by Public Health England (PHE) to restrict the number of mourners who attend funerals and to maintain a minimum of two-metre (sixfeet) distance between individuals.

PHE also confirmed that only members of the deceased person’s household or close family members should attend the last rites.

Speaking to Eastern Eye, Gurpreet Singh Anand, managing trustee and president at the Central Gurdwara in west London, admitted that mourners have had to adapt to the new measures. “People are adjusting, (but) it varies from person to person,” he explained. “Some are okay with it, and understand, but others are not okay with it. But I think most have seen that funeral directors have been very helpful and they are making sure the body is treated and dressed correctly.”

Many religious groups have had to adapt their traditional last rites to follow official guidelines. For instance, when a body is released from hospital to the mortuary, it is placed in a sealed plastic bag which cannot be removed. Therefore, some traditions carried out by Sikh and Hindu mourners, such as washing and tending to the body of a loved one, is not permitted.

Within the Islamic tradition, funerals of loved ones must take place within 24 hours, but there have been reports of Muslim funerals being delayed due to the strict guidelines and increase in demand for funeral services.

However, some local authorities have sought to resolve the issue. For instance, Oldham Council recently announced a volunteer system which would enable Muslim funerals to take place over a weekend.

The scheme is overseen by two volunteer deputy registrars who are contacted by undertakers to issue burial forms and arrange death registration within 24 hours.

As places of worship expect hundreds of mourners to attend funerals, they have also had to change the way in which people can pay their respects. Many have begun to live-stream the proceedings, including the Central Gurdwara. “We are doing what we can with technology to help the situation,” Anand explained.

There have also been reports of mourners struggling to bury their loved ones, as demand has risen for funeral services in recent weeks.

Former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal has been vocal about the challenges of organising last rites for his brother, who died earlier this month.

“My brother is spending his sixth day in an undertaker’s fridge because the coroner’s office has an enormous backlog,” Afzal said on Monday (13). "Then we have to find him a burial slot and then we have to lower him into the ground ourselves.”

Anand said he had heard similar reports of people being unable to bury their loved ones as services were too busy, but explained the problem could be down to inconsistencies in government guidelines.

For instance, local authorities were currently controlling the number of people who could attend funerals at crematoriums. While some were restricting attendance, others were allowing larger numbers of up to 20 people to be present.

“That puts a strain onto the crematorium which is allowing more people to come as they are usually booked up because people are trying to do their funerals there,” he explained. “The ones which only allow two people or no people are sitting idle, so I think rather than let local authorities decide, governments need to intervene and come up with something consistent.”

Elsewhere, some services have been banned altogether. In Bradford, the local council announced that because of the risks of spreading the virus, funeral services at Bradford Crematoria would be suspended. The council admitted the measure had caused “enormous distress” to families, but said it was put in place to protect the public, funeral directors and bereavement services staff, and was in line with other local authorities and the advice given by the medial authorities.

In response to Eastern Eye, a spokesperson from BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in London said it was adhering to government guidelines. They confirmed there were restrictions on how many could attend; safe distances had to be maintained; and individuals with symptoms of coronavirus, or who were part of a household where someone had symptoms, or were vulnerable to severe infection should not attend the proceedings.

(With Charlotte Green of Local Democracy Reporting Service)