Permanent Secretary for Health, Doctor James Fong urges families to limit graveside services to 10 persons and to limit gatherings before or after the burial to 10 persons or less.
Doctor Fong says activities surrounding funerals appear to be the most troublesome spreader events, and this is an alarming situation.
He says their investigations indicate that in some instances, funeral gatherings of 100 were split up into 5 so-called bubbles of 20 persons.
Doctor Fong says many of you will understand that this does not make sense.
He says we need to stop twisting and turning the COVID safe directives to suit our purposes.
He also says we need to treasure the memory of those we have lost and when more normal times return we can plan memorial events in which our loved ones are commemorated in a suitable way.
Doctor Fong says everyone should recall that this latest outbreak gained momentum when one person who contracted the virus in the border quarantine area attended a funeral, yet funeral gatherings continue to be sources of spread.
Doctor Fong says the death of a loved one is a difficult time for everyone, but people must adjust to the current situation and avoid funeral gatherings.
He says the deceased must be buried, and we must pay our respects and accompany them during their last hours on earth, but we must temporarily find new ways to do this.
The Permanent Secretary says they will strengthen enforcement of COVID-safe restrictions such as restrictions on movement and gatherings, mask-wearing, physical distancing, and the other measures designed to prevent people from coming into contact with the virus.
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