Mourning families turn to online funerals — or postpone services — due to coronavirus

Funerals are being canceled, postponed and even held online during the coronavirus pandemic, media outlets reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told the public last week to livestream funerals, according to Newsweek. Even though the CDC said there wasn’t evidence that people could get the virus from a deceased person, it said people should follow social distancing recommendations.

“As you think about planning for the event, limit the number of people if possible, use live-streaming options and perhaps have only immediately family on hand,” said Dr. David Berendes, an epidemiologist at the CDC, according to Newsweek. “While you’re at the event, promote social distancing etiquette, hand hygiene and try to limit other people coming in and out.”

Erich Schepp, of Schepp Family Funeral Homes in Fayetteville, New York, said his business has webcams that allow funeral services to be streamed online, according to Syracuse.com.

The loved ones of Isabel Cabrera Galindo, 82, who died recently, watched her burial over livestream after they couldn’t attend her service in person, according to CNN Business.

“Being a millennial on the internet, I’ve watched my fair share of livestreamed events, but it was sad for all the wrong reasons,” Garrett Galindo, her grandson, told CNN Business.

Washington said on March 19 that funerals are classified as a “social gathering” and are banned during the coronavirus pandemic, according to U.S. News & World Report.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced on March 16 that the state would ban gatherings of 50 people or more and close all restaurants, bars and entertainment venues for two weeks, the Associated Press reported.

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Mourning families turn to online funerals — or postpone services — due to coronavirus."