Cemetery closure

Well there would be expected to be a lot of people visiting the graves this week, and the risks of people gathering there, especially among those who know each other,or each others families, must be taken into consideration.Also there's always large gatherings of asian families in the cemeteries when they have a burial, and they still shake hands & theres 'backslapping' /hugs indulged in, particularly at times like ramadan. This has been witnessed when visiting a family grave, thankfully not nearby though. (so not hard to see why its spreading more in asian communities?) Its hard when you cannot even visit the graves of loved ones of course, but if it makes us all a little bit safer then its to be understood. Same with libraries, i can't see how they will survive in the future, the books will have to be 'set aside' 72 hours when they are returned, then if a borrower does this too the libraries will have to extend lengths of loan time too allow for this.Plus many will be still fearful of borrowing anyway.

In the 1970s I worked in public libraries and the date label asked people to report any infectious diseases while the books were in their care. These books were then sent to the local hospital to be autoclaved and sterilised we were told. Then around 1976 this all stopped and we were told infection couldn’t live on books. Now I wonder which information was correct? ?

Flothecrow,
There is often a peaceful feel in a cemetery,a way to remember in a quiet way.

agrees! there are so many inappropriate and contradictory moments (in these conditions).

Viruses can live on paper and card and books. When I was a child we used to get second hand books and comics from the local market. My mother used to put them in the oven “to kill the germs.” Library books were wiped over with a disinfectant cloth .
The post and parcels have passed through many hands so one has to be careful.

I think you've missed the point about the plague comment. All sorts of nasties might lurk on paper etc but what was said was there is no known case in history of books being the source of an outbreak of disease. Just because something is possible doesn't mean it will happen or that it has happened in the past.

I too find cemeteries peaceful places.
I am interested in the history of old graves and churches, although I don't have a religious bone in my body!
Shutting them due to Covid is a step too far.
If libraries can remain open with a rigorous quarantine for the books and a booking system then they definitely should. We are already in danger of losing our libraries, I would hate to see any more permanently close.

i think thats why they shut in ,due to lots of people coming for remembrance day, surely you can remember them the whole year through and not just on this day..

None of the rules as what can open and what has to close make sense

My library is the same as Calendargirls, open for click and collect. They also quarantine books for 72 hours. Keeps people working. An interesting thing is that London transport have been stabbing tube trains and found no evidence of the virus. I have been travelling on trains tubes and buses with a mask for quite a while now, sanitizing when I get on and when I get off and by and large they are not busy.

I see nothing wrong in visiting cemeteries. I like reading the inscriptions on headstones, and just the general peace and quiet.

Our library is accepting returned books, and doing a click and collect for reserved items. It did this when the first lockdown eased off, and progressed to allowing limited numbers of people in to choose books, all returned books having been quarantined for 72 hours.

I’ve taken out a number of books before this second lockdown started, to keep me going.

Hetty58 What do you suggest happens to those who have died? I find it a great comfort that some day my earthly remains will be reunited with those of my DH

My daughter &I do that sometimes MaggieTulliver it's peaceful and interesting to think about the lives of the people buried there. Of course a lot of relatives go to think about their loved ones and keep them in their memory.
Not all strange in my opinion.

MaggieTulliver, I find it quite ridiculous too. One thing's for sure, the departed certainly aren't there, just bones and ashes. It seems like a waste of good land to me!

Harrigran is correct, viruses and bacteria can live on any surface including books and paper, for many days. So it is logical to close the libraries.
This wouldn’t have been known in history!

Library closures. Since last March I have bought about forty books online for very little, often at the cost of a coffee and a bun, sometimes at the price of a bar of chocolate. I have been able to follow up current interests and obtain books without waiting weeks or months for library requests. The problem is that I have far too many books already and even Oxfam will not take any without an appointment. I am trying to give away books as soon as read, but see few people to do this. A box reached a block of sheltered flats and was apparently received with joy. Sending books to landfill is an absolute no, no.

Why is going to a cemetery an odd thing to do FlotheCro? I find them very peaceful and wonderful places. I visited my dear dad’s grave in a small village churchyard yesterday and felt an immediate sense of peace. I also go to bigger cemeteries just to walk and look at all the headstones and wonder at the lives of all those who’ve died. I don’t mind being reminded that we all die, it actually helps ground me and helps me deal with my mental health problems (strange but true). Closing them due to COVID is utterly ridiculous.

I worked in libraries for 16 years and we always wiped the books on return. You would be surprised what you find on book covers! People use books to put cups on and goodness knows what else. When you love books it was upsetting to see how they were treated.

The first time I went in after they reopened I commented (not even to him but to another staff member) that I knew they were just doing as they were told but that to my knowledge (which is extensive) never had a plague been started by a piece of paper...

It's the book covers as well. The paperbacks have laminated covers and our library - and I imagine it's a general policy - quarantine all returned books. However, they can't have people going in and browsing books, touching them, taking them off the shelves, flicking through them and then replacing them.

jusnoneed

Our local one was during the first lockdown, there were so many complaints that it was reopened.
It was open when I walked past on Friday.

Sounds from comments on here that you need to complain to the council and put forward your views.It does seem wrong headed to me.

In the first lockdown they closed the cemeteries in N.Ireland and people were not happy. Our 1st minister and her deputy had different opinions about it and it was a real talking point. They finally gave in to opening them, but cars were not allowed in and they used the two pedestrian gates for in & exit. Not to let people visit graves, especially people who couldn't attend the funeral of their loved one because of restrictions on large groups and who maybe wanted to visit the grave to lay flowers. Its ridiculous.

Our local one was during the first lockdown, there were so many complaints that it was reopened.
It was open when I walked past on Friday.

That's odd. Apparently you can pop over to Bluewater for a takeaway and it seems some shops are open too. Having said that, I went to my parents grave in Wednesday as I thought that we were in a lockdown, which does include avoiding unnecessary journeys.

With parks closed, there's the worry that groups of local teenagers will congregate in cemeteries instead!

Going to a cemetery at any time seems to me a very odd thing to do.