Ban on wedding ceremonies cancelled in Chechnya

At the July 7 sitting of the Operative Headquarters for Countering the Spread of Coronavirus, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, announced the lifting of the ban on wedding ceremonies, introduced earlier because of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, he emphasized that the population should abide by the established safety rules (mask-wearing regime and observance of social distance), stressing that "this virus exists."

The residents of Chechnya, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, were surprised at the decision of their regional leader to allow wedding ceremonies in banquet halls and restaurants.

"The decision is somehow contradictory and not entirely clear, in my opinion. Kadyrov has allowed weddings to be held in banquet halls and restaurants, as they say, 'at citizens' numerous requests,' but at the same time he talks about the dangers of coronavirus and the need to take security measures," said Lechi, a local resident.

"It turns out that our authorities now decide how people should rejoice and grieve. This is just an absurdity," said Mansur, a Grozny resident. At the same time, he has noted that he rarely met people wearing medical masks recently, although the demand to wear them has not been cancelled. "People are just sick and tired of that," he believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 9, 2020 at 05:48 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.