More Than 200 Couples Got Married While Wearing Surgical Masks In The Philippines

• Wearing the masks was required by the government, amidst the threat of novel coronavirus (covid-19).
• The couples kissed while still wearing their masks.
• Mass weddings are held yearly in the city of Bacolod, which has become a post-valentine tradition.

“In sickness and in health” was more pronounced on the vows of the couples who got married in a mass wedding in the Philippines, where the brides and grooms were wearing face masks during the ceremony.

220 couples tied the knot on a mass wedding held in Bacolod City. The country’s health department required them to wear the masks, following the call to be extra careful amidst the threat of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

The newlyweds kiss through the masks during the mass wedding.

The health concern did not deter the couples at the Bacolod City Government Center from saying their vows. They dutifully donned the masks along with their wedding attire.

One of the grooms, 39-year-old John Paul Inventor, said that “It feels different to kiss while wearing masks, but it was required. The place was jam-packed.”

The ceremony was presided by Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia.

“If our families are strong, the city of Bacolod becomes strong too,” he said.

The health department also required them to fill out health declaration forms, disclosing their health status and their travel history in the past 14 days. These are all part of the Philippine government’s health preventive measures. Fourteen days is also the standard quarantine period for people arriving from China, and also the maximum incubation period.

Mass weddings are held yearly in Bacolod as a post-Valentine’s Day tradition. In 2013, more than 2,000 couples got hitched sans masks, of course.

A church in South Korea also took extra health measures just recently for a mass wedding. Hand sanitizers were prepared and surgical masks were handed out for the approximately 30,000 attendees.