IN AN attempt to stop the spread of COVID-19, Australian Funeral Directors Association and the National Cabinet have made three legislative changes to funeral proceedings in the past week.
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The most notable change came in the form of limiting service attendees from 100 people to 10, plus the strict enforcing of social distancing at memorials.
"I do believe that social distancing is making it harder to grieve, especially for couples," Colliery Trenerry owner Greg Collier said.
"We had a funeral recently where we had to seat people four square metres apart.
"It works but it's not easy, people like to be together, especially when they're mourning and grieving."
In the absence of a specific statement from government, the AFDA is considering transfers, burials and cremations as essential services.
This means that remembrance services can continue indefinitely, unless notified otherwise by higher officials.
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"The coronavirus is changing daily and the directions from government are also changing," Mr Collier said.
"It becomes very difficult for people to mourn when you're only allowed 10 people, that's the problem we have at the moment."
Collier Trenerry have been trying to overcome the limits placed upon funeral services by implementing new technology, such as live streaming memorial services.
Through utilising a private code, friends of the deceased will be able to grieve alongside immediate family in real time, allowing them to feel the raw emotion of a moving ceremony.
"We're launching this service to the public for those who are unable to physically attend the service," funeral director Lomey Tengere said.
"This won't be open to the whole wide world, just close friends and family who have the specific code to see the livestream."
All funeral directors in Griffith will be working together during the foreseeable future, in an attempt to assure grieving families are not hindered by the new guidelines.
"We're all on the same page, it's time to band together and help the public," Mr Collier said.
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