For illustrative purposes only. (L) Photo by Tikkho Maciel on Unsplash. (R) Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash.
Yesterday, February 6, Singapore announced that another two people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 30.Earlier this week, amid the outbreak, one couple in Singapore resorted to an unusual way to celebrate their new matrimonial bond — a wedding banquet without them, the bride and groom. Joseph Yew and Kang Ting were absent from their own wedding reception, opting instead to attend it via live stream.The couple was in Hunan province, Kang’s hometown, a few weeks ago to celebrate Chinese New Year with her family, Shin Min Daily News reported. They returned to Singapore on January 30 but had to take a 14-day leave of absence from work as a precautionary measure against the contagion.They held the wedding ceremony a few months back and celebrated with Kang’s family in China in October, but had planned a second banquet for family and friends in Singapore set for February 2.
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It was all going smoothly but guests got concerned and began to cancel when they realised that the pair was in China just three days before the wedding, Yew told the BBC. That’s when he and his now-wife decided to not attend their own wedding, in order to ease their guests’ worries.“We wanted to postpone the wedding but the hotel was not willing to. They said everything had been arranged and it was non-negotiable. So we felt like we had no choice but to proceed with the wedding,” Yew told the BBC.Most of their immediate family members were also missing from the banquet. The groom’s family lives with the couple and had to take precautions too, leaving his older sister to attend to the guests.The bride’s parents could not make it because of travel restrictions imposed on Chinese travellers. On February 1, Singapore imposed an entry ban on all visitors who have visited mainland China in the last 14 days. Singaporeans and Permanent Residents who were returning from the mainland can enter, but are required to take a 14-day leave of absence from school or work.Refusing to have their spirits dampened by the unfortunate circumstances, the newly-wed couple donned their wedding attire and entertained guests via live stream from a room in the same hotel as the party.The banquet meant for 190 guests only saw 110 attend. Yew speculated that some guests might have chosen to avoid gatherings due to the coronavirus, or they might have been suffering from the common flu.Find Koh Ewe on Instagram.