Chittagonians, keep your weddings small!

Culturally renowned for their extravagant weddings with huge crowds, port city residents now have to settle for only 100 guests at events as the district administration has given directives to control the spread of Covid-19.

Chattogram's culture is one of opulence when it comes to weddings -- thousands of guests gather at the venue to eat traditional mezbani beef and celebrate the nuptials. During prolonged shutdowns in 2020 due to the pandemic, there was a damper on these celebrations.

But the traditions were picked back up once health guidelines were relaxed, and in the last four months, weddings with throngs of people have taken place with no concerns about the coronavirus.

With the alarming rise in Covid-19 infections in Bangladesh, District Administration of Chattogram has issued seven points of directives on gathering in community centres, convention hall, restaurants and recreation spots yesterday.

The administration has asked not to allow over 100 guests in any social, cultural, political, or religious programmes to contain the spread of the virus.

Signed by Chattogram's Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohammad Mominur Rahman, the circular stated that action will be taken if anyone violates the directives and remains indifferent to the health and safety guidelines.

According to the directives, community centres can only fill one-fourth of their total seating capacity at any programme, while the presence of over 100 guests is strongly discouraged.

To minimise risks, temperature must be taken of all guests before entry and hand washing stations and sanitiser should be arranged for them.

Apart from that, maintaining three feet physical distance, wearing masks and making separate entry and exit points to avoid crowding are also mentioned in the notice.

Meanwhile, Chattogram Metropolitan Police (CMP) Commissioner Saleh Mohammad Tanvir in an awareness campaign of Bangladesh Police said police are raising awareness among people to maintain health safety guidelines and prevent the spread of coronavirus.

"First, we try to aware people of wearing masks and avoiding crowds. If they don't follow the order then legal action will be taken," he added.

According to the civil surgeon's office, 111 persons were tested positive for covid-19 in the last 24 hours in Chattogram, raising the total number of cases there to 37,551. So far, 383 people in Chattogram have died from Covid-19.