A man in New Jersey has been reprimanded by police after hosting a wedding for 40 people, in direct breach of the state's social distancing rules.

William Katzenstein, 39, was issued a summons after around 40 guests gathered to celebrate nuptials despite Governor Phil Murphy explicitly banning people getting together for any type of social event including weddings or celebrations

The wedding was broken up and the guests were asked to leave.

Katzenstein will have to appear in court on a future date.

It is the third wedding in the same community in recent weeks to have been broken up by police after breaching new laws on social distancing.

Last week. several residents of Lakewood, New Jersey, have called the police after witnessing large gatherings at private homes in violation of a statewide ban which was enacted to help stop the spread of the coronavirus

'We understand that everyone's daily routine has been effected by the coronavirus and our state's effort to isolate and contain the spread of this outbreak,' Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said.

'It's not easy. We understand how difficult it is change your way of living. We are all adapting as best we can. We all need to recognize the vital role we all have in flattening the curve of this outbreak. Stay home, practice social distancing and please be considerate of the risks our men and women in law enforcement are facing every day.'

The governor has also made a point of telling New Jersey residents that abuse towards any community will not be tolerated.

'Folks are using a couple of examples like that to extrapolate and start blaming, vilifying communities. In this case, our Jewish brothers and sisters,' he said.

'Regardless of how you worship. Regardless of your ethnicity, race, who you love, your gender, we are one family. We rise and fall as one family,' Murphy said.

'There is a special place in hell for the very small minority of individuals' who scapegoat, bully or vilify another community,' the governor continued.

Last week, two New Jersey residents were charged after hosting large crowds at events in their homes, including a pop-up wedding.

Eliyohu Zaks, 49, was summonsed by police last Friday after authorities said he hosted a pop-up wedding in his home on Spruce Street in Lakewood, according to the Asbury Park Press.

The event was attended by more than 50 people.

Another local resident, 43-year-old Shaul Kuperwasser, was also cited by police after a large crowd was seen gathering at his home last Thursday.

Lakewood officials said they have received dozens of angry phone calls from local residents who have reported mass gatherings, according to Patch.

The authorities said they are acting with a sense of urgency after Lakewood reported a confirmed 141 cases of coronavirus through Wednesday.

Across New Jersey, at least 108 people have died of coronavirus infection. Statewide, there have been a confirmed 8,825 cases.

The recent sightings of public gatherings have already exacerbated long-running tensions in Lakewood, where a large Orthodox Jewish population has relocated in recent years.

As wedding halls were ordered to shut down, residents simply moved the ceremonies to backyards on their residential properties.

Orthodox community leaders in Lakewood said that all 200 local synagogues and 130 yeshivas in the area have either shut down completely or limited prayer to small groups.

'This is a very concentrated close-knit community,' Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg told NJ Advance Media.

'Many day-to-day activities and religious customs are done in group settings, so it's a bit of a learning curve.

Rabbi Abe Friedman, a chaplain for the State Police and a member of the governor's interfaith advisory council, told New Jersey 101.5 most Lakewood residents are following Murphy's order but it is difficult for some Jewish residents who are used to gathering together for prayers three times a day.

'This is a community, I believe, gathers and lives tight knit. The average family with five to eight children. Then when they grow older, marry off and then they have children, so the average household has about 20, including their own children, grandchildren and a son- or daughter-in-law,' Friedman said.

'It's very difficult to pull the plug on the routine of daily prayer and say 'you've done this for the past 10, 20, 30, 50 years. Now just go home pray at home with no other people with you,'' Friedman said.