PEOPLE are unable to visit the graves of their loved ones as the coronavirus crisis means most cemeteries have closed to visitors until further notice.

It comes after emergency regulations were introduced in the new Coronavirus Act 2020.

But the move has caused some upset. Visitors to Portland's town council-owned cemetery found it locked on Monday.

One relative, Hannah, who wanted to go by her first name only, said people are taking the Government's lockdown 'very seriously' but that the cemetery should be an exception.

She says the impact the closure will have on those who visit the cemetery regularly will be 'very sad.'

"Losing someone is always awful," she said. "But I know what it means to them to spend a few minutes there and tend their plots. These are horrible, scary times for all and this just makes things worse for them.

"We are taking [guidelines] very seriously and don't want to spread the illness, but when people are shopping in supermarkets using public transport and some companies still working because it's deemed safe I don't understand why people cant go and pay their respects to loved ones in an open space.

"Social distancing shouldn't be a problem there as you don't see many people, the chances of peoples loved ones being next to each other are pretty remote. The majority are approaching this in a sensible manner and I know a few folk this will leave very sad indeed. It's times like these people need to get comfort where they can."

The new regulation stated that anyone responsible for a crematorium or burial ground must ensure that, during the emergency period, the crematorium is closed to members of the public, except for funerals or burials.

Dorset Council says its legal team investigated this further with the Local Government Association (LGA) and came back stating closure applied to crematorium ground and cemetery grounds .

This information was shared with the county's town councils, which own and run cemeteries, to make a decision.

Weymouth Town Council-owned cemeteries are now closed to visitors, include Weymouth Cemetery, Melcombe Regis Cemetery and Wyke Cemetery, as are Portland's.

A visitor to Melcombe Regis Cemetery said she went to take her dogs for a walk but, to her dismay, found it fenced off.

She said: "I know about distancing but I feel that you are outside and common sense tells me to keep my dogs on a lead. I never come into contact with anyone. Not happy."

A spokesman for Portland Town Council said: "I totally understand that some people are feeling upset about the cemetery being closed. Ours, along with all other cemeteries in the area, have been closed following instructions from Dorset Council.

"That said, prior to the decision, we had been talking about whether or not the cemetery should be closed. Our view was that we needed to protect our staff; the Institute of Cemetery and Crematorium Management (ICCM) have said that there is a risk of mourners at a funeral carrying the Covid-19 virus which could be passed to the grave diggers in undertaking their duties. We felt that the same risk could be applied to people being in the cemetery.

"We need a team of two to dig graves. If either of them were to become ill then we would have failed to protect them and in addition we may lose our ability to dig graves and undertake any further burials. As I’m sure you will appreciate, given the current situation this is not a place that we wish to find ourselves in."

Weymouth Town Council said it was 'hard decision to make' but one it had to make 'in order to follow the law.'

Dorchester and Bridport's cemeteries remain open at the moment.

A spokesman for Dorchester Town Council said it is presently seeking advice from Government in respect of whether cemeteries will be required to close, and that it will act on that advice when it is received. They said: "It is quite possible that the cemeteries, except for burials, will require to be closed – this advice is expected imminently. We are keeping the cemeteries open for as long as we are allowed as we appreciated that it will be upsetting for people that wish to visit their loved ones if they are unable to do so.

"The cemeteries in Dorchester have not been misused by people flouting the government’s rules on social distancing."

Funerals are still permitted under the new rules but there is a limit of 10 attendees.