Algerian police have stopped a couple from tying the knot after raiding their wedding ceremony for failing to abide by the government’s measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.
Videos that went viral on social media showed mask-wearing security forces outside the wedding hall in the city of Annaba, 600 kilometers east of the capital Algiers, as police vehicles took the bride and groom and their guests away.
Media reports said that the police raid came after locals informed the authorities about the planned wedding despite calls by the government to call off gatherings.
The reports said that the couple were to exchange wedding rings when the police entered the hall and forced the bride and groom along with those who attended the ceremony to be put in quarantine.
Algeria has closed down schools, cafes, restaurants and public transport in cities and called off all public gatherings.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday ordered the security forces to enforce a ban on any public gathering as part of the government's measures to contain the coronavirus, with 94 cases confirmed in the country so far.
