Social Distancing is Equals to Cultural Distancing an Analysis on the Bereavement Process during COVID 19 Pandemic in Zimbabwe

Background: Millions around the world have experienced the loss of a loved one due to COVID 19, other various illnesses or natural death (Mortazavi, Assari, Alimohamadi, Rafiee & Shati, 2020). However given the restrictive lockdown regulations due to COVID 19 pandemic most of these individuals did not have the opportunity to bid farewell to their loved ones or bury them properly. The World Health Organisation (2020) warned that the COVID-19 restrictive measures disrupted the regular grief cycle that enables individuals to rapidly adjust to the situation and recover from their loss. For example, social distancing restricts collective mourning. Research suggests that people who mourn alone are likely to experience anxiety, depression, ambiguous loss, acute and complicated grief, which is when people struggle to integrate their loss into their identity. This study analysed the bereavement process of 15 participants whose loved ones died during the outbreak of the COVID-19 in Harare. Materials and Methods: Data for the study was collected using in-depth interviews and qualitative questionnaires. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data. Results: The findings of the study revealed that the deceased mostly died in isolation with no one around. Mourning the loss was also highly challenging with participants receiving less in social support thus leading to mourning in isolation. The inability to perform last rites added yet another layer of grief which resulted in prolonged grief among the bereaved and impacted their overall wellbeing. A multi-layered approach is effective in mitigating the psychological effects of mourning in isolation, ranging from case finding to increasing access to public education. Use of the existing structures to better deal with the emerging phenomenon. For example, holding ceremonies, such as virtual memorials in the form of virtual groups, adapting some religious and cultural customs to the structure of the virtual networks, and inviting the bereaved to write letters to the dead person and express their feelings.