Social distancing rules during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is putting a damper on having large events of any kind including concerts, festivals, conventions and church services. The funeral industry is also having a difficult time adjusting for families who want to say goodbye to deceased loved ones.

Over the last few weeks, New York has seen an astronomical number of deaths from COVID-19 with hundreds dying a day. Funeral homes are struggling to keep up with the demand and adapt to new regulations to minimize the spread of the disease.

Last month, the New York State Department of Health announced new guidelines for funeral homes and families planning funerals during the COVID-19 pandemic to slow the spread.

“Our country is facing a unique state of crisis with the spread of the coronavirus,” State Attorney General Letitia James said. “While we all may want to celebrate our loved ones’ lives and memorialize them, at this time, we must continue to practice social distancing and limit large public gatherings, including at funeral services.”

The guidelines include limiting the number of people to no more than 50% of the maximum capacity, not touching deceased bodies and not attending funeral services if people have been in close contact with the deceased.

Funeral homes are also being asked to follow their routine infection prevention and control precautions when handling a decedent who died of COVID-19.

While all this is meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it is adding an extra burden to already grieving families. Many funeral homes are now limiting the number of people who are attending gatherings, cutting down on how much time family members can spend with the deceased and streaming funeral services online.

“Families are hurting because they can only see their loved one from a computer screen,” said Tyrell Carrillo of T. Carrillo Funeral Services. “What we’ve had to do is only allow only one hour of family gatherings. They are no longer called funerals.”

Carrillo added that with the number of deaths from COVID-19, he’s servicing 20 to 30 families per week. Only 10 family members are allowed to attend the hour-long gatherings. They are also asked to wear masks and not touch loved ones during their time of grief. Travel restrictions and limiting the number of family members that can attend has made webcasting the new normal.

“The body is in the room but there is no memorial service,” Carrillo said. “The main focus is to see the loved one and allow viewing but a very abbreviated version of what we have been used to.”

Jason Benta, who is president of Harlem’s Benta Funeral Home, said he’s also had to adjust how services are planned and done. Families are planning funerals over the phone or via video conferencing. Services are only allowed up to 10 people as well and also does webcasting and digital tributes.

“We have been doing services but we have a diminished level of service of what options are available,” Benta said. “We have been encouraging families to do something after the pandemic is over.”

Benta added that personal protective equipment (PPE) is also needed for the many funeral home employees taking the bodies of those who have died from COVID-19 from hospitals.

“As much as we applaud and are behind the first responders, this industry is not getting any support for PPE,” Benta said. “I’ve had to resort to getting PPE items by any means necessary. My focus has been on the safety of staff and families and all the support that I can do to help them move forward.”