The ethics in society during the COVID-19 outbreak in Iran.

The COVID-19 outbreak caused many hardships for the people of the world and our country, but the positive point of this event was the display of social ethics by every person, which created very beautiful scenes. The main responsibility for dealing with COVID-19 in the field of prevention was placed on the people and the people were asked to take care of themselves and the surrounding community by observing the health points. Due to the rapid methods of disease transmission, the people managed the situation well, so that they do not transmit the disease to each other. Among the scenes that our people created with principles and ethics were observing house quarantine and not being on the streets, helping each other in distributing masks and health facilities, helping the poor in providing daily subsistence, etc., and everyone helped to somehow COVID-19 transmission chain breakers. On the other hand, people's sympathy with the medical staff and nurses are another positive event during the COVID-19 outbreak those people try to appreciate the medical staff [1], [2].

The power of hospitals and medical staff to manage the COVID-19 is running out

We do not have suitable conditions in terms of prevalence, death, and disease of COVID-19 in the country. However, any decision to impose traffic restrictions and reduce staff time is the responsibility of the National COVID-19 Headquarters, and in any case, it is necessary to implement such decisions in different provinces. So far, hospitals and medical staff have been able to provide the necessary services to the people, but if the cases of the disease increase and this process continue, we will reach a situation where it will not be possible to treat patients. Cultural, social and decision-making structures in Iran are different from many other countries, strict regulation and strict implementation and strict supervision of officials and people in the implementation of strict protocols are necessary for the success of disease control [3], [4].

How did COVID-19 change the burial and mourning ceremonies?

The victims of Covid-19 were not the only victims of the Coronavirus outbreak. Relatives of the deceased are also severely affected by the epidemic: they miss the opportunity to mourn. The issue is not unique to the victims of the new coronavirus and includes all funerals and mourning because of the possibility of participants being infected. People need to mourn in the usual way when they lose loved ones. Although survivors mourn the loss of a deceased person for a long time, mourning in the first days and even weeks in different cultures and beliefs is usually a social and collective affair. In every country and even city, there are different customs and mourning customs through which the survivors can gradually reach relative peace. The outbreak of coronavirus, the health requirements for burial, the fear of acquaintances with the virus, and the limitations of social distancing have changed the form and type of mourning and burial ceremonies. In addition to the fact that relatives cannot be with their loved ones in the hospital at the last minute, even doctors and nurses avoid comforting and holding the hands of the victims’ families due to the limited protective equipment such as masks and gloves. At the funeral, the participants stood more than a meter and a half apart, and no one could hug or sympathize with the other [5].

Mourning for COVID-19 victims in Iran

Iran is one of the countries where mourning for the dead is a completely collective process. Families go to the survivors’ homes as soon as they hear the news of the deaths of relatives, acquaintances, and friends, even before the funeral, and mourning ceremonies continue until the 40th. With the outbreak of Corona, the ceremony was stopped and no one, except close relatives, attended the funeral. Published images of burials show families standing at a great distance from each other and from the grave [5], [6].

Recommendations of the Scientific Society of Social Medicine for funerals during the COVID-19

The Scientific Society of Social Medicine of Iran has published guidelines to prevent the spread of coronavirus at funerals during the outbreak of coronavirus, some of which are listed here:

the arrangements made for the funeral of the deceased due to COVID-19 are necessary to maintain the health of the survivors and other people, and public responsibility requires that the recommendations of health workers in this regard be carefully followed;

in epidemic conditions, there is a possibility that any person will be infected with this disease, even asymptomatically. Even if the deceased died of another cause, there is still the possibility of co-infection with C0VID-19, and this should be considered for burial;

it is better in this special period, condolences are mainly in the form of telephone or via the Internet and social networks and in absentia;

people with a history of certain diseases or heart, respiratory, and diabetes problems should refrain from participating in such ceremonies;

the time of the ceremony should be reduced to a minimum and Robusti should be avoided in hugging, eating, and drinking, and entertaining in any way throughout the ceremony;

at the time of burial, avoid touching the shroud, touching the deceased or the coffin, and the cloths on it and falling on the grave;

it is recommended that any prayers and mourning ceremonies be performed individually and at home, and gatherings should be avoided as much as possible;

seriously avoid touching the face, nose, eyes, and mouth during the ceremony, and hand sanitizer solutions with an alcohol base and mask should be available to all people during the ceremony;

it is recommended that the ceremony of eating and other vows be postponed to another time when the epidemic conditions have been lifted, or that its expenses be spent in other ways in public benefits cases [5].

The COVID-19 is present in our social life and the future of this disease is not predicted, so considering the impact of this disease on social life, people should change their perception of daily life with this disease and be ready for such a life. Ethics and social responsibilities are directly related to each other, the context of which is the social system, and our people in different social conditions are well-implemented moral principles in society. Ethics are internal principles and external manifestations and behaviors that lead to human perfection and improve interaction and social relations in society, but etiquette is a set of rules and frameworks that make a person beautiful in speech, actions, and external manifestations [3], [4].

On the one hand, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic as a crisis has different dimensions each crisis with social domains will go through at least three stages of upsetting the existing balance, emergence to the peak of the crisis, peak to stabilization, and stabilization to the creation of a secondary balance. At each stage, behaviors and etiquette are formed that may remain in society so that in the face of crisis and profound social change, individuals with recognition of individual inefficiencies, moral weaknesses, problems, and lack of social-communication skills and the use of capabilities and use. They also revise their existing habits and beliefs from the existing infrastructure to change their current lifestyle. Observations show that in most societies and the first stage of the crisis, the volume of instinctual behaviors, sharp and emotional reactions are more than emotion-based etiquette. However, if the media and public opinion focus on emotion-oriented behaviors, some relative but fragile calm can be restored to society [7], [8].

COVID-19 as an opportunity plays an important role in strengthening ethical behaviors so that the formation of new jobs based on the electronic and digital economy, changing customer buying behavior in the field of retail, home products, charities, growing community need for entertainment The formation of chambers to help the elderly and celebrate the sacrifices of the medical community and nurses is one of its results [8], [9].

During this period, and despite COVID-19 disease, organizations and departments must converge with each other, and if organizations accept that, they are in crisis, more convergence, and repair the country's economy.

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Disclosure of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing interest.

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Authors’ contributions

MN initiated the writing of this paper and drafted the frst version. AK and AR have both made substantial contributions to the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.