The 10 person funeral cap
Stuff reports:
A Cambridge widower is calling on the Government to show compassion and increase the number of people it allows at funerals under level 2 alert.
Mark, who does not want his full name to be used, lost his wife Kim to bowel cancer during the level 3 lockdown.
He said the cap of 10 people at funerals was a “kick in the guts,” especially after the Government said last week that up to 100 people could attend.
A lifelong member of his local rugby club, Mark said that he couldn’t understand why funerals could only have 10 people in attendance, when contact sports like Rugby were allowed.
The cap of 10 people at a funeral is poorly thought out.
We may be at Level 2 for 18 months until there is a vaccine. There will be 50,000 deaths in that time. That would be 50,000 families who can’t properly mourn.
If you can have 100 people in a bar, why can’t you have 20 people at a funeral? All you need to do is make sure there is social distancing and caution against hugging etc.
National and ACT are voting against the Level 2 law because of the inflexibility on this and other issues. Wouldn’t it be better if the Government compromised so the law can be unanimously supported?
They should also compromise on the proposed power to allow Police or others to enter your house without a warrant.
Ardern said she knew the rules were causing pain, but they were necessary.
“That’s the risky behaviour. Look back again in the areas where New Zealand has had trouble with Covid. It’s been weddings, it’s been bars, it’s been social gatherings so that’s where we’ve put the limits in place,” she said.
Yet the PM is allowing 100 people at a time into a bar or cafe.
Mark is now calling on the Government to drop the rule, and lift the cap to 100 people to make the rule consistent with the caps applied to restaurants and cinemas.
I hope he succeeds.
If I die I know far more than 10 people will want to attend my funeral. I expect at least 500 there, evenly divided between mourners and those checking I’m actually dead!