As Alert Level 4 came into force yesterday, at least two families in the city have had to cremate the bodies of their family members and start planning a memorial service without their loved one in the casket, Campbell & Sons Funeral Services owner Clark Campbell said.
With Level 4 again restricting funerals, his only option was to give the family the choice of postponing ‘‘perhaps indefinitely’’.
The alternative was to go ahead with a cremation instead of the funeral, with a follow-up memorial service when people were allowed to gather.
‘‘It is sad,’’ Mr Campbell said. ‘‘It is hard, and the longer the lockdown is ... the harder it is to make a decision, too, because nobody knows when the lockdown ceases.’’
Hope and Sons funeral director Andrew Maffey said the funeral home was in ‘‘a bit of a holding pattern’’.
If there were deaths today, or Friday, he would advise people to wait until at least Saturday to decide how to proceed.
A public funeral booked for Saturday had already been postponed until it was clear how long lockdown would be, he said.
Funeral and celebrant Melanie Kerr said she had already postponed a funeral.
And it was a difficult time for those dealing with a death, she said.
‘‘Potentially, these lockdowns impact not only the funeral, but that dying process and the grieving and access that people have to their family members as they are transitioning,’’ she said.
Otago Community Hospice chief executive Ginny Green said rules about people visiting their loved ones was probably the toughest aspect of being in Level 4.
The hospice had to restrict visiting to one visitor, which was extremely tough on the families, the patient and the staff, she said.
That one permitted visitor would stay with the patient around the clock, as they were not permitted to come and go.
Level 4 meant all staff who could work from home were working from home, she said.
The inpatient unit was fully operational in North Rd, but staff numbers there were minimal. Rural offices were closed.
All her community staff were supporting their patients and families over the telephone, but ‘‘in exceptional circumstances’’ would do a home visit, if required.
