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How Funerals and Graveside Rites Are Changing With Social Distancing
The coffin of Luke Leo House Jr. before interment at the Inglewood Cemetery. (Emily Elena Dugdale/LAist)
The COVID-19 outbreak is changing life all over Southern California and placing new limits on how we observe our religious and cultural rituals of death.
The funeral industry has responded by asking families to cancel or postpone large memorial gatherings in their chapels, and cemeteries are severely limiting the number of people who may attend graveside ceremonies.
That’s putting families in the uncomfortable position of persuading relatives to stay away or stay apart after a loved one dies.
At the Islamic Center of Los Angeles, only licensed mortuary workers may do the traditional bathing and wrapping of the dead, a task that previously could include family members. And the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva has been moved online in some households.
GO DEEPER:
Funerals Must Change In This Time Of Social Distancing And Coronavirus
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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