Online funeral service helps grieving families in isolation

Services can be filmed or live-streamed, and all organisation is done remotely

Russian funeral company, UfaRitual, has introduced filmed and live-streaming service options for families experiencing loss during the coronavirus lockdown. Using a complex system of personal safety and virtual organisation, the team coordinates every aspect of a funeral, including the choice of coffin, headstone and ceremony. People may also request support via social media accounts, as the business has organised a streamlined process for picking up enquiries. For families who own burial plots, the service includes in-cemetery filming.

As part of its community support in response to the global health pandemic, the company also provides free transportation of the deceased to the morgue. Funeral documents can be finalised over the phone or online, and extra protective health measures have been instituted in a number of places. All ritual cars are disinfected before and after use, and an air purification system has been set up in the vehicles and the morgue.

The company is also providing remote cemetery visits for individuals and groups who cannot travel due to lockdown requirements. Families must provide specific plot locations and someone from UfaRitual will visit the gravesite and set up live footage for the virtual visit and remembrance ceremony.

As sustainable funerals and burials become more common, a variety of innovations spotted by Springwise update old rituals to suit a digital world. A chair that transforms into a coffin allows for cremation, as well as the Chinese practice of preparing one’s own coffin, and a connected bereavement keepsake brings together different aspects of a person’s life to create a digital, shareable memory.

Explore more: Computing & Tech Innovations | COVID-19 Innovations