Free Republic

May 21 (UPI) -- Restrictions on cemetery visits during the Memorial Day weekend, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, were lifted on Friday by the Department of Veterans Affairs. No masks, social distancing requirements or limits on the size of groups will be demanded of any visitors vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, although those not vaccinated are expected to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance. The announcement follows a May 13 order allowing "fully vaccinated NCA [National Cemetery Association] employees, on-site contractors, volunteers, to include honor guards, and visitors" to forego masks. As on Memorial Day weekend in...

The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts who have traditionally placed American flags on the graves of veterans at veterans’ cemeteries on Memorial Day have been barred from doing so because of the coronavirus crisis. The Scouts cannot perform their acts of honor because the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has banned public events at the sites, Fox News reports, adding, “On Long Island, N.Y., where more than 500,000 veterans are buried at two national military cemeteries, there are demands for the VA to reconsider and rescind the ban.” Suffolk County executive Steve Bellone told Fox News, “If we can’t figure out...