Police stop wedding party violating coronavirus rule on event size

A wedding reception in Gelderland was broken up by police Saturday night because there were too many attending the event. Police in Druten were enforcing the government's ban on all gatherings of over 100 people, a restriction put into place on Thursday to help contain the spread of coronavirus, officers said on social media.

It was among the first known instances where authorities in the Netherlands have stepped in to reduce crowd size in line with the new government policy.

The police and local constabulary allowed the event to continue after the wedding organizers reduced the number of guests. A fine or other punishment will be imposed, but the exact consequence would not be determined until later on Sunday, a police spokesperson told AD.

"We are calling on everyone to follow the regulations," police said on Twitter, telling everyone to act responsibly. "For yourself, and also certainly for others."

Druten was home to three patients with coronavirus, and Gelderland was home to at least 76 of the country's 959 patients, according to statistics released by the health agency RIVM. As of Saturday, 12 people who tested positive with the virus later died.