How Americans Struggled to Bury the Dead in 1918 Flu Pandemic-- Part 5

Public funerals and wakes were banned  in cities including Philadelphia and Chicago.  Iowa prohibited public funerals and even the opening of caskets.   Exceptions were only made for  parents and wives identifying  soldiers before burial -- and even then, they could only open   the caskets if family members covered their mouths and noses with masks and refrained from touching the body.

"In many communities, processing  the loss of loved ones entails a series of rituals and rites and laying a person to rest in a respectful way,"  Bristow says.  "In many cities, the restrictions on public events meant that families  and communities had those rites interrupted, so grieving didn't take place in public but became an individual process, which had long-term consequences.  Without an opportunity to share it with those around them, that grief was carried for decades."