South Africans mourn a metre apart as COVID-19 curbs funerals

A mourner carries flowers and a programme during the funeral service of 63-year-old Mary Modimola, as centuries-old cultural traditions at funerals are being forgone due to the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Soweto, South Africa, April 24, 2020. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

SOWETO, South Africa (Reuters) - Maaki Modimola sways along to a hymn in the yard of her dead sister's home in the South African township of Soweto, a bottle of sanitiser swinging in her hand.

Later at the cemetery, mourners sit on chairs spaced one metre apart. The usual choir is replaced by a recorded track blaring out of a single speaker. Maaki's sister Mary did not die from COVID-19, but its influence is everywhere in the ceremony.