Families Bid Farewell From a Distance During the Pandemic

(Photo: Reuters)

Amidst the coronavirus chaos, there proceeds the same comfort in laying to rest and honoring the deceased in prayer or remembrance. These traditions are being upended as governments across the globe impose strict social distancing orders, forcing people to find new ways to grieve.

President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles Jay Sanderson encouraged the communities of faith to adapt to the social distancing and stay-at-home orders. Technology would provide a space for families to grieve over lost loved ones, Sanderson said.

He recalled spending days on Zoom calls. "I see the world through a 'Brady Bunch' screen."

For many families, these traditions give a sense of closure to the deceased. Without it, bereavement might take longer, and healing from the grief will be delayed.

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Faith in practice

Various faith leaders are calling on families to make compromises during the quarantine, especially since the gathering of people in large numbers is banned per protocol. Sometimes ritual is so crucial, the practice of it often supersedes the need to stay home and prevent any further health risks.

In the city, Islamic and Jewish traditions allow the body of the deceased to be cleansed according to certain rites, and then the body is covered with a shroud during the funeral. After this, prayers are delivered, and the body is buried.

Death doula Mariam Ardati says, "There's a communal prayer that's offered for the deceased, and that's when the whole community comes together."

She explains that in Islam, cremation of the body is believed to be a desecration of the deceased. After the rites, the body must be buried directly onto the earth. This is called the janazah.

During the coronavirus pandemic, people are asked to seek alternatives to these traditions. These rites are often being revised or forgone altogether.

On April 1, Hasidic Jews held a congregation to mourn the death of a local rabbi, as seen in a video circulating online. They carried a casket of their dearly departed as they marched along Avenue N on a procession.

Last Sunday, a funeral was held by members of the Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. They were then told by the New York Police Department to maintain a 6-foot distance during the ceremony in a video posted on Facebook.

On that same day, other Hasidic Jews assembled for a funeral procession hours after the first incident. The response of the NYPD was to contain the ceremony. Although there were no arrests issued in both incidents, the police asked the members to be considerate of the general welfare of the public.

Dealing with the dead

As New York City's death count from the global pandemic COVID-19 swelled to 3,485, health workers on the frontlines are struggling with how to deal with the dead.

One nurse in Elmhurst, Queens, says, "We had to get a refrigerated truck to store the bodies of patients who are dying."

She is referring to the refrigerated trailer their hospital is using as a temporary morgue for deceased COVID-19 patients.

"We are scrambling to try to get a few ventilators." The nurse adds that the emergency department in the hospitals does not have enough tools to take care of the patients.

Bronx funeral director Joseph Lucchese first raised doubts over the pandemic but was utterly overwhelmed by the flood of bodies turning up at the funeral homes. In New York, as of yet, no more than ten people are allowed at a funeral.

"In between every family, we'll clean and disinfect every funeral home," he adds, to reduce chances of cross-contamination.

Chair of the New York City health council committee, Mark Levine, shared on Twitter plans to build trenches in the city park to bury bodies of COVID-19 patients. He added that soon, they would start "temporary internment," where trenches will be dug for "10 caskets in a line". 

However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo admitted in a daily press conference with NBC News to not having caught on the news about the city burying people in the park.

Similarly, spokeswoman for the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Aja Worthy-Davis claimed Levine's plan was raised in a possible scenario. She includes, "But at this point in time, there is no plan to inter at city parks. We currently have adequate space for decedents."

The derisive detachment that used to come with death has diminished, now that the danger is disguised as an undetectable disease.