Sun 18 October 2020:
Health officials in New York put a stop to a planned wedding after receiving reports that “upwards of 10,000 individuals” were scheduled to attend the event in Brooklyn on Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Saturday.
“We received a suggestion that that was happening. We did an investigation and found that it was likely true,” Cuomo said at a news briefing.
New York’s rules for stemming the spread of COVID-19 limit social gatherings to no more than 50 people. For religious events inside a church or temple, the limit is 33 per cent of its capacity.
Elizabeth Garvey, an adviser to Cuomo, told reporters that “more than 10,000 people planned to attend” the wedding.
“You can get married. You just can’t get a thousand people at your wedding. You get the same results at the end of the day. It’s also cheaper!” Cuomo said.
Local media reported the event was an Orthodox Jewish wedding.
New York was the epicentre of the US coronavirus outbreak back in spring, and the city has seen more than 23,800 related deaths.
It managed to bring the crisis under control through lockdowns, but in recent weeks the number of reported COVID-19 cases has risen.
Last week Cuomo ordered the closure of non-essential businesses in the worst-hit areas and limited the number of people who can be in places of worship to 10. Schools were also closed.
The governor said Saturday that these measures were already yielding results.
