NY health officials shut down 10,000 person wedding in Brooklyn
Despite the pandemic, a New York community was going to host a wedding for more than 10,000 guests
COVID-19 has completely shifted life as we know it over the last several months, but over the weekend health officials had to intervene when they got word that “upwards of 10,000 individuals” were slated to show up for a wedding in Brooklyn, New York.
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A local NBC affiliate reports that during a briefing on Saturday Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed that state officials were tipped off that the Rockland County Sheriff’s Office had learned of the upcoming nuptials. In response, a warning was issued warning guests not to attend the ceremony which was scheduled for Monday at a Hasidic synagogue in Williamsburg.
“We received a suggestion that that was happening. We did an investigation and found that it was likely true,” Cuomo explained. “Look, you can get married, you just can’t have 1,000 people at your wedding.”
The Hasidic community has weathered criticism of social gatherings and their defiance of COVID-19 protocols during the pandemic as large groups have held events in Brooklyn and in other Hasidic communities in New York. The community has filed lawsuits against the state alleging that Cuomo is practicing “anti-Semitic discrimination” by issuing new lockdown orders in orthodox Jewish communities that are seeing spikes in COVID cases, according to NBC.
Friday, New York Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Ducker signed a Section 16 prohibiting the wedding and it was served by the New York City Sheriff’s Department.
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Although organizers note that the wedding was scheduled to be held outside of Brooklyn’s red, orange, and yellow COVID cluster zones, the magnitude of the guest list alone made it dangerous. As of the latest reporting, organizers have agreed that outside guests will no longer be attending and that only close family members will now be allowed at the gathering.
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