The requirement that funerals be limited to an attendance of only 10 people, and that social distancing be practiced, is one of the necessary measures to limit the pandemic of COVID-19.

The announcement of this policy by Prime Minister Scott Morrison has brought in a new era in Australian mourning practices. It is a temporary measure, and, we all hope, will not be needed for long. The limit of 10 people at a funeral is disappointing for families – a few weeks ago they could have up to 100 – and now it means that meaningful gatherings cannot really be held. The reaction has been so profound that the Prime Minister has made a second announcement, as quoted from a Canberra Times article, allowing that: “States and territories can also provide exemptions to the 10-person limit for funerals in cases of hardship …”

These exemptions would be rare, and also must not go far beyond the rule of a 10-person attendance.

In the United States, the Washington Post quoted the “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that families hold ‘virtual’ funerals streamed online, to limit the numbers in attendance”.

While the regulations are in place, it is likely that here in Australia more use will be made of the projection of funerals to participants through online visuals and sound. Such means are currently available, but have been rarely used.

A recent news report from Reuters states that: ‘Everywhere the coronavirus has struck, regardless of culture or religion, ancient rituals to honour the dead and comfort the bereaved have been cut short or abandoned for fear of spreading it further.’

When researching the thesis ‘Rural Rites: Women's Experience of Funerals and Remembrance on Lower Eyre Peninsula in the post 1960s era’ which is currently under examination with the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Charles Sturt University, it was found that Australian funerals have been subject to vast changes over the past 40 years. The pace of this has been unprecedented, and social change is as important in rituals of death as in any other aspect of life.

The supervisor of this thesis, Dr Therese Taylor, often commented on the importance of the French mentalités scholars, who provided a methodology for including death to enrich our understanding of the history of the whole of society. Mourning rituals are one way in which every person can make a claim on the attention of others, and acknowledgement of loss is a profound human need which is affected by gender, religion, class, and national culture, but exceeds all such categories.

Research for this thesis surveyed numerous sources, and interviews were conducted with women who had experienced bereavements in post-1960s regional South Australia. The transformation of mourning rites has made funerals more secular, more inclusive of women in active roles, and more reflective of individual choice. Religion is now often replaced by spirituality, and ritual by creative demonstrations. However, funerals have retained their traditional importance in consoling the bereaved, honouring the departed, and linking the social and individual experiences of death.

The willingness of Australians in the contemporary era to share their varied moods and experiences, and to integrate these into mourning rituals, is an important cultural shift. This current change is different from the previous decades of innovations. It is sudden, it is mandated by government authority, and it is part of the ordeal of a pandemic.

However, the way that the rites of death in Australia have been repeatedly changed, reinterpreted and renewed shows that Australians, and their funeral industry, are capable of producing rituals of mourning in diverse circumstances.

It is very important that funerals, even in their new format of social distancing and restricted attendance, retain their role in consoling the bereaved. The death of a loved one is one of life’s most distressing moments, and people need the support of others, as well as rituals, to create order in a time of chaos. Perhaps individual visits can replace some mass gatherings, while online resources will certainly be used. The research for the “Rural Rites” thesis showed that by the 2012 era, Australian mourning customs had still not integrated virtual reality, to any great extent. That is most probably about to change.

When remembering the last rites for a friend or family member, people often express gratitude for those who attended a funeral, or participated in creating arrangements. We need people to be around us when our life changes. The thesis included diverse descriptions of commemorations, from long-standing religious liturgies, to secular entertainments important to the departed.

The acknowledgement of loss is a vital step. It is very important that the requirements of limiting the pandemic be accompanied by a suitable degree of acknowledgement and visibility of mourning the dead.

Mourning can take place in many ways and at any time. Funerals under current regulations will be different from our previous experiences, and providing recognition and solace amid social distancing will be a new task for mourners and funeral directors.