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The negative effects of the pandemic on Funeral Services and the professionals that have worked throughout the whole ordeal: a thread /1
Since last March, Funeral home staff in Ontario have been working hard to follow the restrictions of the @BAOntario so that the general public can still hold services or rituals for the deceased. Restrictions have shifted many times. In Stage 1 we could only have 10 members /2
Of the general public in our ENTIRE facilities. Funeral professionals responded to this by implementing virtual services like live-streaming and Zoom so that people could still attend services. Visitations were mostly cancelled. Funeral homes were also directed by the Coroner /3
Of Ontario to follow an Expedited Death Response so that the deceased would not become backlogged the way they had become in New York. Suddenly funeral professionals had to plan and carry out a new logistical system in a very short time period. Eventually /4
Restrictions were eased a bit during Stage 2 so that 30% of a room at the funeral homes could be occupied. Around this time mandatory masking was ordered in funeral homes, weeks before all the regions would begin starting their own masking bylaws. Attendance for contact tracing/5
Became a new practice. Though these practices took time to adjust to, they became easier with time. Families were happy to be able to have visitations and services again. Despite the capacity restrictions, memorials felt somewhat normal again. Funeral professionals feared a 2nd/6
Wave but were glad to be providing meaningful services to those we serve. I’m not sure how many people realize this, but holding a funeral is important for the psychological well being for the survivors and family of a decedent. It provides an open forum to mourn and find /7
A sense of closure. The pandemic has had an unimaginable impact on the grief journeys and mental health of mourners for the last year. Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/12/14/946402101/psychologist-on-why-funerals-are-fundamental-to-processing-grief /8
With the second lockdown in effect across Ontario, Funeral Homes have been ordered to return to the restrictions first put in place during Stage 1. We are only allowed to have 10 members of the public in our facility at a time. Families are upset because services that were /9
Booked have had to be cancelled. Further community transmission has made public health measures ramp up, including the closure of indoor dining as well as small receptions after funerals for the family. People are leaving all alone. People are having to grief by themselves /10
This isn’t right. No one should have to be denied the right to honour their loved one, especially during a time when mental health issues are already at an all time high. We need to get transmission back down so that funeral homes can ease up again. At the same time I haven’t /11
Even brought up the stress, fatigue, mental health effects, and fear that funeral professionals have been feeling these past 10 months. Acquiring PPE to keep ourselves safe has been an ongoing challenge. Feeling the pressures of trying to provide for our families but stay safe/12
Keeps us up at night. Caring for decedents who are Covid + adds a layer of stress because we want to make sure we are cleaning enough, wearing enough PPE, and staying healthy. We also have to make sure those people’s families don’t come in for arrangements if they’ve been /13
Exposed. This makes it hard because we have to delay services until quarantines are done or have no services at all, just direct burial or cremation. The last thing I want to mention is the fatigue we are feeling. We are tired. Tired of gowning up when we go to LTCs and house /14
Calls. Tired of setting up Zooms and live streams when we would rather be shaking hands and giving a warm smile to guests as they enter the facility. Tired of ever changing rules and guidelines (even when they are for the safety of all). Tired of being an essential service /15
But hardly ever acknowledged by ad campaigns and media figures who praise frontline workers but omit the “end of the line” workers. I don’t say all of this to rant or complain. I just want people to know our story. Please stay home. Please stop ignoring the public health /16
Guidelines. People are dying. ICUs are full. Families are grieving but unable to fully embrace their grief due to Covid restrictions. Funeral homes have continued to work around the clock despite issues with childcare, finances, staffing and business changes. Funeral /17
Professionals (like myself) are experiencing anxiety, depression, and fear regarding the virus and the pressures we face everyday dealing with the unfortunate consequences of a deadly disease. All I can say is that I hope to be included in phase 2 of vaccinations 
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