Families mourning the loss of their loved ones are grappling with tighter restrictions on funerals and tangihanga, which prevent them from being present at any stage of the funeral process.
Among them is the whānau of the late Ngāti Kahungunu kaumātua Des Ratima, who have placed their father's body in storage until Level 4 restrictions lift.
During last year's Level 4 lockdown, people in the same isolation bubble as the deceased person were allowed to go to the funeral home or urupā, but as Te Aniwa Hurihanganui reports, that's all changed.
