The current COVID-19 pandemic has made saying farewell to lost loved ones and friends even more heart-wrenching. Although “Death Care Services” are considered “essential” and are permitted by Gov. Tom Wolf’s order to “continue physical operations,” large gatherings of any kind are forbidden.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health has mandated funeral directors to, “delay these events or limit these events to 10 people or less.” These directives align with what’s recommended by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), and Pennsylvania Funeral Directors Association (PFDA).

The commonwealth’s health department also advises directors to “encourage families to restrict burial services to only immediate family members and to refrain from physical interactions at these events.” The directive also states, “Encourage families to hold memorial services to celebrate their loved one after social distancing restrictions are lifted.”

A cautionary tale of what could happen without such guidelines can be found in Albany, Ga. CNN recently reported a late February funeral and another held in early March turned the community into a coronavirus hot spot.

Lehigh Valley-based funeral homes are adapting to this new reality while still working to maintain a balance between comforting and protecting their clients, as well as shielding staff from the COVID-19 threat.

“Funeral services are being limited to no more than 10 people in attendance. This includes clergy and funeral home staff,” said Vice President Michael Kulik of Bachman, Kulik & Reinsmith Funeral Homes ,which has two facilities, one in Emmaus and a second in Allentown.

“We have spread out our chairs in our viewing parlors in order to accommodate six feet of social distancing, as we really don’t want to take any chances. We are also following similar precautions with our staff so that we can remain healthy and not spread the virus to our families at home, in addition to the families that we serve,” Kulik added.

As of March 30, the Pennsylvania Department of State has temporarily waived the rule for funeral service practitioners to bury recently departed individuals within 10 days. Directors are still encouraged to do so, but will be granted an extension of up to 30 days, where appropriate.

“Most families have opted for the private graveside service and we have had no requests so far, for an extension,” said Kulik.

Funeral Director Aaron Schisler said that memorial services following the PFDA guidelines are available at the Schisler Funeral Home in Northampton, as well as their three other locations, including the Bartholomew-Schisler Funeral Home in Nazareth, Campton Funeral Home in Palmerton, and Miller Funeral Home in Lehighton.

“If the families choose a traditional burial now, with the traditional format, they realize they are keeping that to a maximum of 10 people,” Schisler said. “There is still the potential for a more involved celebration of life event down the road, once these restrictions are released.

“That will be difficult for these families to have to revisit these emotions again,” Schisler reflected.

The Cantelmi Long Funeral Home in Bethlehem is still offering small private graveside and indoor memorials while practicing social distancing. According to funeral director Brittany Kidwell, business hours haven’t changed, but, the staff is working modified schedules. They also centralized all administrative operations at their Bethlehem facility while maintaining the Cantelmi Funeral Home in Fountain Hill for requested usage.

Video-conferencing with more clients in lieu of face-to-face meetings and live-streaming services have been explored in an attempt to protect everyone.

“We are going to see a lot of emotional distress,” said Kidwell, regarding how the restrictions on crowd size and social distancing can affect a large family which is already hurting.

Kidwell observed that cremation with delayed services are being arranged more frequently.

“It’s really sailing uncharted waters,” Kidwell said about dealing with the “unknowns” surrounding COVID-19. While adhering to existing safety protocols for preparing the deceased for either type of service, she asked. “How clean is too clean?”

Although the shelves are well stocked with personal protective equipment (PPE) for the present, Kidwell expressed anxiety about the possibility of running out of supplies if the infection and death rate from coronavirus spikes in the Lehigh Valley.

PFDA President David Peake is equally concerned.

“We are in the same position as a lot of first responders and hospitals,” Peake said. “We are scrambling to get as many PPEs that we can get our hands on.” He continued,. “A lot of PPEs aren’t around or don’t exist at this point.”

While awaiting restocking help from the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), Peake has advised funeral homes to band together and share supplies during the crisis.