COVID-19 could not keep this Indian couple from getting married. This week, in a village in the Indian state of Rajasthan, a couple got married in Hazmat suits and masks instead of traditional Indian wedding attire after the bride tested positive for COVID-19 just hours before the marriage. Photos and videos of the wedding went viral on social media, sparking many memes.
The couple, whose names were not revealed, decided to go ahead with the ceremony on Sunday, December 6, in the courtyard of a COVID-19 quarantine center in Baran, in the western state of Rajasthan.
Under a traditional canopy, the bride and groom exchanged garlands wearing matching blue hazmat suits, face shields, and masks.
The bride had been admitted to the quarantine center after she and a family member tested positive, health official Rajendra Meena said, according to Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI).
"We consulted with the families, and they agreed to get married in the quarantine center without any elaborate rituals," Meena said.
Social media users congratulated the couple.
Indian Twitter user @Anand_kr_7654 posted: “Nothing can stop us Indians from marriage ceremonies. Not even #COVID19. Congrats to the couple.”
And, @vaccine_trust posted: “The priest, looking like an astronaut in a white hazmat suit and matching hood… while traditional wedding songs played in the background.”
After the wedding ceremony, both the bride and groom were placed in isolation at the quarantine facility.
While weddings in India are often an elaborate affair, several states have imposed restrictions around numbers allowed at marriage gatherings. India has the second-highest COVID-19 caseload in the world, after the United States.
