10,000-guest wedding banned by New York authorities

Authorities have banned a wedding in New York state after learning it could have gathered more than 10,000 guests, in violation of measures to fight the coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Saturday.

The Rockland County Sheriff’s Office has informed authorities of the huge wedding scheduled for Monday in Williamsburg, in a part of the county where the coronavirus outbreak is not circulating.

“We were told it was going to take place. We investigated and found that may be true. There was a big wedding planned that would have violated the rules on gatherings, ”Andrew Cuomo explained at a press conference.

According to Elizabeth Garvey, an advisor to Mr. Cuomo, “more than 10,000 people are planning to attend” the ceremony.

“Listen, you can get married, but you can’t invite a thousand people to your wedding. You get the same results at the end of the day. And it’s cheaper too! ”Joked the governor.

According to local press, it was an Orthodox Jewish wedding, a community that recently protested in New York against localized restrictions put in place to fight a new wave of the coronavirus.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise again in New York and its suburbs, especially in neighborhoods where Orthodox Jews are plentiful, and some of them accuse authorities of stigma.

Andrew Cuomo last week ordered the shutdown of non-essential businesses until the end of the month and limited attendance at places of worship in those neighborhoods to 10 people. Schools have also closed.

The governor said on Saturday that the measures were already working.

New York was the epicenter of the pandemic in the United States in the spring with more than 23,800 dead in the city, before succeeding in controlling the situation at the cost of severe restrictions.

Cuomo also announced the reopening on October 23 of theaters in areas where virus positivity is less than 2%, with a maximum capacity of 25%, or 50 people per theater.