Hundreds of people were potentially exposed to the coronavirus last week when they visited a funeral home in St. John’s.

Caul’s Funeral Home manager John Anderson says he started hearing rumours about potential exposure on Saturday, so he called Eastern Health.

They told him there was nothing to worry about, but the next day the health authority confirmed his worst fear.

Anderson says “they called me back and told me I did have reason for concern because a visitor had been to the funeral home with coronavirus and had been exposed to many other individuals.

Anderson then issued a statement on social media advising anyone who attended wakes for Shannon Fleming and Edward Tobin that they may have been exposed and should get tested.

Since that time, the number of positive or presumptive cases of Coronavirus more than doubled in this province. Tt least one person, a Canada Post employee who visited the funeral home, has presumptive COVID-19.

That situation and other reports of large congregations of people prompted government to limit all gatherings to a maximum of 10 people or fewer. That includes funerals.

Anderson says it’s tough telling families who are grieving the loss of a loved one that not everyone can attend a funeral.

He says “as of now there’s no more public visitations, no funeral masses or services in big gatherings.”

The new restrictions will mean Anderson and other funeral homes will have to limit visitation to immediate family. He says “it’s a hard thing to do, but we are living in uncertain times.”