Up to 50 people will be allowed to attend funerals starting tomorrow, Government officials announced today as they backtracked on a decision earlier this week to limit such gatherings to no more than 10 people under Covid-19 Alert Level 2.
Minister of Health David Clark announced the change of heart this afternoon, just hours before New Zealand's scheduled move to Alert Level 2 at 11.59pm.
The new limit will allow up to 50 people to gather for the purposes of funerals and tangihanga, provided that strict public health measures are in place.
From tomorrow, funeral directors will have to obtain dispensation from the Ministry of Health to allow up to 50 people to attend services, while having to meet a range of public health measures.
Those measures will include physical distancing, hand hygiene, as well as no food and drink congregations afterwards.
The Prime Minister said Government is on its way to finding a solution. (Source: Other)
"Funerals are exceptional events and have been one of the most difficult areas of restriction that we've considered as we try to avoid the double tragedy of losing a loved one and spreading the virus," Dr Clark said.
"The strength of our response to this virus has been in our agility to respond and we have listened to the concerns of the 10-person limit for funerals and moved on that - while emphasising they still pose a significant risk in setting us back.
"We can all be rightly proud of the progress we've made in tackling the virus over the past seven weeks and we need to maintain this unity to keep us on track.
"I'm pleased that we have found a workable solution that that keeps people safe, while at the same time allowing more people to gather and grieve together."
The Funeral Directors association has welcome the change, assuring that all precautions will be followed to see services adhere to the new safety rules.
"We always knew this was a hard decision for the Government," said association president Gary Taylor.
"We have continued to work with them to find a solution that meets the needs of families and maintains the hard won gains of the Level 4 and Level 3 lockdowns.
"Fifty is a number we can work with for now as it will allow families to have limited access to a meaningful farewell with those they love and still keep people safe."
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Simon Bridges also partly welcomed the move, before criticising the Government's backtrack after its initial decision.
"I'm glad that National has pushed the issue," Mr Bridges told media this afternoon.
"Ten and a rule around 10 was cruel and inhumane. I'm also glad to see some progress on this.
"That said, the new rule smacks of incoherent, inconsistent policy on the hoof.
"It's incoherent because we've gone from 100, to 10, to 50.
“That to National indicates a real lack of a health basis, or a robust one at least for the decision making. If there had been, I would have expected the Government and Minister [David] Clark, and the Director-General [of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield] to stick to their guns."
The new measures will come into effect from tomorrow, when New Zealand moves to Alert Level 2.
Currently funerals are limited to groups of no more than 10 people. (Source: Other)
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