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Coronavirus is affecting all our lives. It is also affecting the way we can worship, practise our faith and mourn and say farewell to loved ones.
Essex County Council and representatives of faith organisations in Essex have produced this information to help you understand what you must do. It is based on advice from the Government and Public Health England.
Stay home. Protect the NHS. Save lives.
The Government says:
- Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
- If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home
Do not meet others, even friends or family. You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.
Worship, prayers and festivals
- Places of worship are closed
- Religious and social gatherings of any size are not allowed
- Please do not gather for faith festivals happening soon and check government guidance before planning gatherings for festivals happening later
- Stay at home and worship with your household
- Household means those who live in your home, not extended family or guests
- You can find and join in prayer services online
- You can use video apps to worship and pray online with friends and family
- Follow advice from your local and national faith leaders
Registering a death
- All deaths must be registered – see essex.gov.uk/register-a-death
- Deaths must be registered where possible within 5 days
- The law has temporarily changed:
- You can register a death by telephone rather than face to face
- Follow the link above to book an appointment
- You can ask for an on-the-day appointment – the registration service will do its best to provide one
- Funeral directors and some other professionals can register deaths under certain circumstances
Mourning and funerals during the coronavirus pandemic
- Funerals can take place. Only household members and close family can attend
- Close family means spouse or partner, parents and children of the deceased
- No more than 10 people can attend
- Stay at least 2 metres (6 feet or 3 paces) apart during funerals and when travelling to and from them
- Don’t attend if you show coronavirus symptoms or are vulnerable, eg. over 70, pregnant or have an underlying health condition
- If you are unable to attend the funeral reflect at home on the day
- Some cemeteries and crematoria offer web-casting so the funeral service can be shared with your family and friends
- Burials and cremations are both permitted
- Funerals can only take place at the crematorium or burial grounds
- Essex County Council and bereavement services are working together to cope with the extra deaths due to coronavirus
- They are aiming to enable funerals to take place within the timescales of your faith but this may not always be possible
- You will not be able to bring the deceased home for mourning
- Please do not delay a funeral in the hope the lockdown will be lifted. Aim to hold the funeral within a week, as mortuaries and funeral homes do not have space to keep deceased at this time
- Think about arranging a memorial or wake later in the year or the following year
- Seek advice from your faith leader about ways to mourn while observing your faith at this difficult time
- Bereavement services, faith groups and voluntary sector organisations can provide bereavement support
What to do if the deceased had coronavirus
Extra precautions should be taken if the deceased had COVID-19.
- Due to the small but real risk of infection from the deceased, mourners are strongly advised not to take part in rituals or practices that bring them into close contact with the body
- This includes washing, preparing and dressing the body
- Only people wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and trained in how to use it should have contact with the body
- The deceased will be taken to a temporary mortuary between death and the funeral
- You will not be able to see them there
- Household members of the deceased should self-isolate for 14 days and not mix with other mourners at the funeral
Useful links
- UK Government – What you need to do
- NHS – Advice for everyone
- Faith Action – Links to advice for followers of different faiths
- Essex County Council – Coronavirus updates
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