Funerals may be ‘streamed online’ amid coronavirus pandemic

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One of the preventive measures against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) the United Kingdom is mulling over is to conduct online funeral viewing services.

The National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) in the UK stated that funeral services could be done via “webcasting of services” in the event that COVID-19  would be declared as a pandemic, Sky News reported on March 5. On Wednesday, March 11, the World Health Organization decided to characterize the disease as a pandemic.

Some of the options the association was considering included the webcasting of funeral services (noting that some crematoria already have these facilities) and holding a separate memorial service at a later date.

NAFD mentioned that it was in “dialogue with the government and local authorities to seek early guidance on steps funeral directors may need to take in the event of a pandemic,” the report said.

To support the local government, NAFD will focus on helping families who lost their loved ones so that they could find “meaningful ways to say goodbye—even if the funeral they would have preferred isn’t possible.”

The Department of Health and Social Care in the UK also told the news entity, “Our action plan sets out measures to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak that are reasonable, proportionate and based on the latest scientific evidence.”

There are now more than 121,000 people infected by COVID-19 worldwide. Over 4,300 have died. The virus causes mild to moderate symptoms of cough and fever. However, for older adults and people with pre-existing health problems, the virus may pose more severe illnesses. Cha Lino /ra

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