The Mount Richmond Cemetery on New York’s Staten Island has never been so busy.
Rabbi Shmuel Plafker of the Hebrew Free Burial Association said, “Usually we have one to two burials a day. This past Friday, we did seven burials. Sunday we did an unprecedented 10 burials.” The majority of those deaths are from COVID-19.
Because social distancing guidelines are being observed, families aren’t able to approach their loved ones’ grave sites.