Coronavirus outbreak leads to Georgia funeral homes restrictions
ATLANTA - Its been rough these past few days for the family of Nancy Blackmon.
"It's difficult,” Blackmon’s sister Sharon Thomas said. “It’s really, really difficult being that her birthday was Sunday, the 15th."
Only a few days later, her sisters would go from celebrating Blackmon’s life to planning her funeral.
FOX 5's Brian Hill met them Saturday at Stocks Funeral Home.
"We just want to make sure our loved one is properly taken care of,” Thomas explained.
Sadly, not everyone in the family will get to say their last goodbye at her funeral.
"Having the service restricted to 50 people or even less to care for others as well as us is very much appreciated,” Thomas mentioned.
To help control the spread of COVID-19, Funeral Home Director Kecia Davis said, for the foreseeable future, they are limiting the number of mourners inside their chapel.
‘We have streamed a service before,” Davis told Hill. “Back in December we streamed a service and it was pretty good didn’t have a problem, so we are going to be offering this to all the families."
This is the result of a suggestion from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that funerals could continue with a strict 50-person limit.
"Most of them are grieving, they don’t wanna hear about the coronavirus but I have to bring it up,” Davis said.
Her staff is helping families process their loss and find new ways to honor their loved ones.
Davis says they are also offering graveside funeral services.
Other Atlanta funeral homes say they are working on similar services.
Their goal is to make the transition as smooth as possible for families while following the CDC's recommendation.
As for Blackmon’s family, they’re focusing on the good times to help them get through planning this unexpected loss
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