Two weddings in Lakewood, New Jersey, were broken up by police Tuesday night as state officials continued to warn against large gatherings amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Officers responded to the separate celebrations— one at Fountain Ballroom on Vassar Avenue and the other at Lake Terrace on Oak Street— around 8 p.m. and told venue staff that gatherings of more than 50 people are prohibited, Lakewood Capt. Gregory Staffordsmith said. The workers and attendees then dispersed, he said.

“We stress that the public do their part in reducing the spread of COVID-19 by obeying the guidelines set forth by the State of New Jersey and encourage cleaning your hands often, staying home if your sick, covering coughs and sneezes, consider wearing a face mask if you aren’t feeling well, clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces and practice social distancing,” Staffordsmith said.

The events exemplify the challenge of convincing people to follow local and state public health restrictions aimed at helping stop the spread of the fast-moving virus, law enforcement officers said.

On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy banned gatherings of more than 50 people and has urged residents not to treat the situation like “an extended spring break.” The Trump administration has said gatherings should be limited to 10 people.

Lakewood police plan to strictly enforce Murphy’s order in the coming weeks and are sending reminders to venues throughout town about size limits, Staffordsmith said.

Mayor Raymond Coles said the township attorney is researching whether any local ordinances would allow officials to enact a temporary penalty for fine against those who hold large gatherings amid the pandemic.

“You’d hope you wouldn’t have to with everything going on in the news,” Coles said. “But if we stop this thing from spreading now, then we can get back to our lives more quickly... We need to respect the restrictions."

Still, Coles said he sympathizes for those forced to cancel or postpone weddings that are often planned months in advance. He said both venues thought Murphy’s restrictions on gatherings had not yet gone into effect. Neither venue immediately responded to a request for comment.

The state rules will also greatly disrupt the large Orthodox community in Lakewood, where gatherings play a big part of everyday life and the religion, Coles said. Two-thirds of the township’s 100,000 residents are Orthodox.

In a letter to the Lakewood Scoop, local doctor Robert Shanik said on Wednesday that no religious leaders should be meeting with students during the outbreak and suggested all learning be done over the phone.

And all of the 200 synagogues and 130 yeshivas in the township have shut down prayer services or limited them to small groups, according to Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, spokesman for the local Jewish communal organization Lakewood Vaad.

Shiva, the Jewish ritual in which mourners pay condolences to the family of a deceased person at their home, is also being done by phone, he said.

“This is a very concentrated close-knit community. Many day-to-day activities and religious customs are done in group settings, so it’s a bit of a learning curve,” Weisberg said. “But an incident here or there should not reflect the community.”

There were three reported coronavirus cases in Ocean County as of Tuesday afternoon.

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