BURYING a loved one is hard enough but with the outbreak of Covid-19, the process and regulations of funerals have been affected.
Icebolethu Group marketing and communications manager, Nkosenhle Hlophe, said many critical factors have been affected but as a funeral parlour, they also need to assist the government by enforcing the new regulations during the lockdown.
ALSO READ: #Covid19Lockdown: Durban psychologists step up offer of free mental health services
The past weekend was the first since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the country was going to be on lockdown for 21 days.
“Funerals are usually attended by hundreds of people so we have had to educate and advise families on the new rules.”
Hlophe said as much as they are not responsible for controlling the crowds, to try and fight this pandemic, they had to go over and beyond their line of duty.
“For instance we had to place not more than 50 chairs in a tent in which we left spaces in between,” he said. “At the church, we had ushers with sanitisers and they wore gloves and masks. There were also a number of hand-washing stations.
“There was also an attendance register should there be a need to trace the people who attended the funeral.”
He said one of the challenges is that one of their packages comes with a tent and 100 chairs. “We cannot offer people that anymore, so we have tried to find another way to compensate our clients,” explained Hlophe.
A Clermont family who had to bury their beloved mother, Thembi Vilakazi, on Saturday said although it was a bit challenging, everything turned out well in the end.
“Even though some of the relatives who live far away could not attend, the send-off for my mother was very organised. The funeral parlour provided us with regulations, we were advised that there should be 50 people at the church. At church, we were advised that only the family will need to go to the cemetery,” said, Thembi’s eldest son. Thokozani.
“The one challenge we faced was that the procedure was delayed as the grave had not been dug. There were issues with transport for municipal workers. We had to get friends to go and dig.
“Even at the cemetery, we provided sanitisers. Also during the week, there were sanitisers as people are always in and out to show their respect and support the family,” he added.
A statement released by the eThekwini Municipality last week read, “During funerals, the community is encouraged to limit the number of mourners to family members only or to restrict the mourners to not more than 50 at the cemetery.
*Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news
Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram on Android or Apple.
