Safety and Government Direction

Here's what the experts have to say about burial in general:
"The CDC states that decedents with COVID-19 may be buried or cremated according to the family's preference."                                                                             National Funeral Directors Association
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"There is currently no known risk associated with being in the same room at a funeral or visitation service with the body of someone who died of COVID-19."                 Centers for Disease Control  
It follows that burial is safe in a conventional or natural cemetery. All reports indicate that these burials are continuing to take place, though many are now immediate burials. The difference is that these burials will necessarily take place in isolation, without families present, and with workers maintaining distance from one another. This will have significant impact on management practices and the grief process for millions of families.

Natural burial cemeterians are already working together to find ways to continue their work efficiently and to provide the means for families and friends to participate without being physically present. Many are working closely with funeral directors who are developing ways to make accommodations as they facilitate the burials for the families using online platforms. Please check with your cemetery for specific guidelines.
More from the NFDA on cremation and burial (3.23.20):
"Currently, NFDA is not aware of any state laws requiring cremation for the remains of a decedent who died of a communicable disease. There may be authority for a State Public Health Department to require cremation in case of communicable disease, but no law mandates it. Stay abreast of any rules and regulations that are required by your state.

At this time, the CDC states that decedents with COVID-19 may be buried or cremated according to the family’s preferences. However, you should “check for any additional state and local requirements that may dictate the handling and disposition of the remains of individuals who have died of certain infectious diseases.”
Basic safety measures for cemetery services include:
  • Enforcing the restriction of 0-10 mourners according to state mandate and CDC guidelines
  • Making sure that families understand and agree to follow guidelines set and enforced by your cemetery personnel
  • Maintaining 6 feet of space between cemetery workers and visitors of all kinds at all times
  • Designating tools that are not shared, if possible; sanitized frequently if shared​
  • Sanitizing surface areas between groups arriving and departing, including shovels
  • Using masks and gloves, other PPE as necessary and available
  • Avoiding unnecessary movement of the shrouded or casketed body
  • Washing hands thoroughly after the service
  • Be aware that there is a difference in efficacy between medical grade gloves and masks and fabric or vinyl products
  • ​Read more here about the Unintended Consequences of Covid-19 by William G. Hoy and Helen W. Harris
Basic facts about Covid-19 that indicate safety of burial:
  • The CDC says, "The virus likely spreads primarily through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes, similar to how influenza and other respiratory infections spread. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. This type of spread is not a concern after death."
  • It is believed that this virus dies quickly when the host dies; however, to prevent any droplets from being expired by the lungs when moving, it is recommended that the decedent wear a mask.
  • The CDC does provide guidelines for bathing and shrouding the body, indicating that shroud burial is still possible when using caution. Some professionals are practicing bagging the body of Covid-19 cases prior to shrouding, though this is not a recommendation. Some funeral directors are recommending a disinfectant spray with no washing, and no re-entry into the bag once it is zipped to avoid any expelled droplets being released.
  • ​The risk of transmission is lower between people when outdoors than indoors. A distance of 6 feet is believed to be sufficient to avoid transmission in either space.
  • ​Read what the World Health Organization has recommended, including the cessation of embalming to avoid transmission by extra movement of the body.

Designing Online Green Funerals

There are many online resources that can be useful in creating meaning and connection in isolation, and more are coming online daily as this crisis evolves and more people are realizing the implications of not being physically present at funeral services. Keep checking back with us as we add more sources.

Creating Ceremony
Families may or may not be familiar with designing online services, so creating ceremony using online tools may involve clergy, celebrants, cemeterians, home funeral guides, funeral directors, and others to coordinate in new ways. Here are some resources to assist with ceremony planning:
The Inspired Funeral
GatheringUs
Funeral Helper
Your End of Life Guide
OregonFuneral.org

Online Videoconferencing Platforms
Sometimes the only people present during a committal will be the funeral director, sexton, or other cemetery worker. Filming the burial with families and friends witnessing through a videoconferencing tool may be an option. Each platform works essentially the same but some have different restrictions, time availability by plan, and costs. Creating an event online takes planning and coordination, and someone who is capable of operating the equipment at graveside, even if it is simply a smartphone, so that the "attendees" experience the event as close to the real thing as possible. Online funeral services and memorials also require that everyone involved have ready and comfortable access. Here are some platforms that are proven to work well for this purpose:
You may wish to consider having the burial filmed and the uploaded for a restricted audience later, or livestream to anyone you choose to include using one of these methods:
  • Facebook group live streaming
  • Vimeo link to uploaded film
  • YouTube live-streaming and/or upload

For a great photo essay on distance grieving and livestream services, see this powerful article with Amy Cunningham of Fitting Tribute Funeral Services by the AP on May 1, 2020. Brooklyn Neighborhood Comes Together to Bury a Stranger

In the News

​10 Freedoms for Ceremony During the Covid-19 Pandemic by Dr. Alan Wolfelt, Center for Loss and Life Transition, ICCFA
Covid-19 is overwhelming the death system. Funeral directors keep it from spiraling into chaos. By Ann Neumann, VOX, May 6, 2020
Thousands of New Yorkers Are Dying: What Happens to Their Bodies? By Grace Gedye, Washington Monthly, May 5, 2020
Brooklyn neighborhood comes together to bury a stranger by Julie Walker, AP News, May 1, 2020
A Funeral Director’s View of the Pandemic by Alexandra Kathryn Mosca, NextAvenue, April 27, 2020
COVID-19 Changes Funerals and How Families Grieve by Christine Lehmann, WebMD, April 20, 2020
Someone Has Died. That’s When Our Job Begins by Alexandra E. Petri, New York Times, April 16, 2020
This Is Going to Kill Small-Town America by David Gelles, New York Times, April 14, 2020
We’re Going to See What Else the Word Funeral Can Mean by Jodi Kantor, New York Times, April 5, 2020
We Will Need New Ways to Grieve by Beth Waltemath, New York Times, April 4, 2020
How Can You Grieve Without a Funeral? By Jaweed Kaleem, Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2020
Coronavirus Means Funerals Must Wait by Kirk Johnson, New York Times, March 26, 2020
New York considers loosening requirements for funeral directors as bodies pile up by Dana Rubenstein, Politico, April 3, 2020
Episode 21: Death Care in the Time of COVID 19 with Amy Cunningham, Death, et seq. with Tanya Marsh, April 19, 2020.
I’m a funeral director. The pandemic has made saying goodbye painfully lonely. By Char Barrett, Washington Post, April 1, 2020
I followed NYC deathcare workers as they collected the bodies killed by the coronavirus by Dave Mosher, Business Insider, March 31, 2020
What is a Home Funeral” How to Care for Sick or Deceased Loved Ones at Home During Coronavirus Pandemic by Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek, March 26, 2020
How the Covid-19 Pandemic May Permanently Change Out Good Death Narrative by Cody Sanders, Religion Dispatches, April 2, 2020