Funeral homes are facing tough pressures during the pandemic: balancing the needs of those who have lost loved ones to COVID-19 with the safety of employees. (WBEZ)
Funeral service cars leave the Kolssak funeral home in Wheeling, Ill., to start a drive-in funeral amid coronavirus pandemic on April 14. Funeral homes across the state are facing pressure to keep their staff safe while honoring an increasing number of deceased.Funeral director Spencer Leak Jr. said he's tired of hearing about death. The previous day was a tough one.
It's tough to mourn a loved one during the pandemic. In Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker has limited gatherings at funerals to just 10 people. But it's not just families having a hard time. Funeral directors must balance the pressures of memorializing those lost to COVID-19 with taking care of their employees who are essential workers. They, too, are on the front lines and risk exposing themselves to the virus.
"We put on booties. We put on plastic aprons over the gowns. We put on our masks. We put on our face shields. We put on face coverings. We put on two pairs of gloves," said funeral director Ilene Johnson."We look like little Martians going into someone's house." "We're not really afraid of a body that's been embalmed. We're really afraid of the people that come with the body," Johnson said."These bodies that die at home probably need to go to the medical examiner first. These are people that probably need to be tested, and then they can be released to the funeral home. Knowing whether a body is positive or not provides a lot of relief to a lot of people — one, the people they lived with, and two, us.
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