Funeral home staff high on list for coronavirus vaccine

Justin Barfield, a funeral director at Bryan-Lee Funeral Homes, said the job presents inherent risks, and there is only so much he can do in his line of work during a pandemic.

"There is a risk when it comes to transferring the body from the place of death to our mortuary equipment to the funeral home to the casket, as well preparing the body for viewing and things of that nature," Barfield said. "Even cremation is not out of the woods. ... There is always a chance that, if you are not wearing proper precautions, you could come into contact and be exposed."

Bryan-Lee has taken various steps to stay safe during the pandemic, including encouraging people to avoid close physical contact, wear masks and wash their hands.

"We’re here to support each other during a time of need, and this just goes against basic human nature," he said. "It’s already a hard enough situation as it is, and then to be told you can’t gather, you can’t hug, you can’t handshake. that is very hard."

The risks are only accentuated by the fact that funerals are exempt from state restrictions on the size of indoor gatherings.

Bright Funeral Home has handled a surge of COVID-19 deaths since Thanksgiving, Ellis said, pushing his staff to its limits and making it difficult to accommodate the dramatic increase in calls.

"What has hit my heart the hardest is seeing a family that can’t come in to make funeral arrangements because everyone has the virus and they have lost a family member to it," he said.

Stephen Davis, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Services, said the surge has funeral homes facing capacity issues, and some have been forced to look for ways to accommodate more bodies as the number of deaths due to COVID-19 continues to grow.

Local health departments will reach out to funeral homes in the coming weeks as their staffs' turn to get vaccinated comes up, Davis said.