MANILA, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Wearing blue surgical masks amid
a coronavirus outbreak, 220 couples exchanged vows and kisses in
the central Philippines to launch their married lives.
Lovers and their relatives braved the virus, which has
killed 2,236 people, to attend Thursday's mass ceremony
sponsored by the coastal city of Bacolod. The lobby of city hall was a sea of white shirts and gowns,
dotted with the blue of the masks, which were mandatory for all,
and provided by the authorities.
"It feels different to kiss while wearing masks, but it was
required," said John Paul Inventor, 39, who married his partner
of seven years and the mother of their two children.
"The place was jam-packed."
Participants had to complete health declarations detailing a
travel history for 14 days, the quarantine period across the
globe for arrivals from China, and the maximum incubation time
for the virus.
"If our families are strong, the city of Bacolod becomes
strong, too," said Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who officiated at the
function.
Annual mass weddings are a post-Valentine's Day tradition in
the city, with a record 2,013 couples participating in 2013.
Mass weddings are also a distinguishing feature for a church
in South Korea that prepared hand sanitizer and handed out
surgical masks for some of the roughly 30,000 people who
attended a ceremony this month. The Philippines has recorded the first coronavirus death
outside China, among three infections, all of Chinese nationals,
but at least three dozen of its citizens based overseas have
caught the virus.