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New York allows online lockdown weddings

Online Weddings - Level 4

New York decided people can get married despite the city being in lockdown. The governor signed an order letting people get married online. All weddings had been stopped. To tie the knot under lockdown, couples must now apply for a marriage license online. Clerks will conduct the ceremony virtually. The new online weddings are legal. A city official said: "The executive order will temporarily suspend a provision of law that requires in-person visits."

Couples can marry via video conferencing. This was previously not legal. The governor joked that: "There is now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage. You can do it by Zoom." Video conferencing platforms allow guests to attend online. Stay-at-home measures have been extended in New York until at least the 15th of May. Social distancing measures could be around for months. This means weddings and other events may continue to be online.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Online Weddings - Level 5

New York has decided that people can still get married despite the city being under lockdown. The governor signed a special order letting people get married online. All weddings had been stopped because of the pandemic. Special measures are now in place to allow couples to tie the knot. People getting married under lockdown must now apply for a marriage license online. Clerks will conduct the ceremony virtually. The new online weddings are legally binding. A city official said: "The executive order will temporarily suspend a provision of law that requires in-person visits."

The new order means couples can marry via video conferencing. This was previously not legally recognised. The governor joked that: "There is now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage. You can do it by Zoom." The video conferencing website Zoom and similar platforms allow guests to attend online. Stay-at-home measures have been extended in New York. They will last until at least the 15th of May. Social distancing measures could be around for months. This means events like weddings may continue to be held online.

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Online Weddings - Level 6

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has decided that people can still get married in New York despite the city being under lockdown. Governor Cuomo has signed a special executive order permitting people to get married online. All wedding ceremonies had been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but special measures have been introduced to allow couples to tie the knot. The procedure for weddings under lockdown now entails applying for a marriage license online and having clerks conducting the ceremony virtually. Mr Cuomo said the new online weddings would be legally binding. A city official said: "The executive order will temporarily suspend a provision of law that requires in-person visits."

The new executive order means couples can get wed via video conferencing. This was previously not recognised as a legal way of getting married. Mr Cuomo joked to reporters that: "There is now no excuse when the question comes up for marriage. You can do it by Zoom." Mr Cuomo did not say whether Zoom was the only tele-conferencing platform that people could use on their happy day. The platform does allow guests to attend online. Stay-at-home measures have been extended in New York until at least the 15th of May. It could be months after that before social distancing measures are lifted. This means gatherings for events such as weddings may continue to be held online.

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25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson