CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and consequent mandates by state governors require funeral home establishments to restrict public gatherings to unprecedented limits to help control the spread of Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic worldwide. The earlier guidelines of a 50-person limit has been reduced to 10 until *March 31, 2020. With this in mind, funeral, memorial and graveside services will be temporarily limited to private events to select family/close friends-or postponed for a later date.

Because of the ceremony being severely limited-I am encouraging families who have lost a loved one during this restriction to take full advantage of one element of the funeral that remains relatively intact. And that is the VISITATION PERIOD. Because the visitation is often held at the funeral home over the course of the day, relatives of the family, friends and community members can arrive briefly at the funeral home to sign the register book and offer their condolences to the family members who will be there to greet you. Obviously, I encourage everyone to use safe social distancing measures when greeting family members at this time. In addition, for those who feel sick, elderly who don’t want to take the risk, or people with pre-existing conditions should stay at home. Losing a loved one is hard enough, but losing someone during a time of quarantine and social distancing can present additional struggles that make it even harder. Don’t forget to support the grieving during this time of trial.

William Lauber
Lauber Funeral Service

*With news of this pandemic changing daily, the March 31 date is subject to change.