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Hugging a grieving person or gathering relatives for a moment in memory can spread the infection. Burial in times of pandemic is challenging, and deaths on covid-19 cause funeral homes to become congested in the Stockholm region.
– How should you be able to give someone a decent farewell when you can’t give people a place to meet? Anna-Lena Engström asks.
Anna-Lena Engström is one of the many people planning a funeral. His best friend Carl-Erik, 88, died in mid-April.
– Carl-Erik was the host of the church and I was an organist, so we were real horses. He was one of my closest in life, says Anna-Lena Engström.
Now, as one of the closest relatives, he faces the challenge of planning the ceremony in the current circumstances.
– Should you have coffee afterwards? I do not think so Because when you are in a dueling job you need contact and you do not think about those two meters and then maybe people leave with the crown. No, it will probably only be a memorial service and a glass of cider outside the church, he thinks out loud.
The ban on gathering more than 50 people is another topic to relate to.
– It is not easy to decide who will come. How should you be able to give someone a decent send-off when you can’t give people a place to meet?
Although there is no suspicion that Carl-Erik himself died in covid-19, Anna-Lena Engström knows several acquaintances taken by the virus.
– An acquaintance passed away on covid-19 on Easter Eve, his funeral has been postponed until the summer. Another friend was one of the first to die in Fruängen. Seniors are a happy camp, she says.
More than 2,600 people died of covid-19 in Sweden, most of them in the Stockholm area. Something that puts additional pressure on the funeral industry.
The Fonus funeral home testifies that more and more people are contacting them.
– It will be difficult to get time in the near future, the funeral business is still running but is tense, says funeral contractor Peter Göransson.
One year you can wait with the burial of ashes. On the other hand, a coffin burial must be completed within 30 days, which has led more people to choose to cremate the deceased.
– This is a clear increase. Perhaps the hope is that he can hold the funeral ceremony at a later date when things have become more normal, says Peter Göransson.
Those who still choose a traditional burial with a coffin generally have fewer participants and a simpler ceremony with the proper distance between guests.
– During a funeral there are many emotions, you pay tribute to a person who lived and who no longer exists. Obviously it is strange not being able to hug and show support and love in such situations. Now you have to find other ways to show support, people greet each other.
Another challenge is that many of those who go to funerals may be at risk and therefore have difficulty physically attending. Peter Göransson says that the live video broadcast of the ceremony has become a solution for many.
– It is a technology that has been around for a long time but was hardly used before. In the past three weeks, we’ve had more than 80 live broadcasts and we have another 120 planned, he says.
– You must find new solutions simply, the important thing is that family and friends have the opportunity to say goodbye to the deceased.
