Ohio will soon allow people to host weddings with up to 300 people

• Banquet halls will be able to reopen in Ohio on June 1 under the same strict guidelines as bars and restaurants.
• Establishments can have events and weddings of up to 300 people, but will have to follow strict social distancing guidelines when reopening, including having tables six feet apart and banning congregating.
• Because of a ban on congregating, dance floors and self-serve buffets are likely a no-go for upcoming ceremonies.

Ohio plans to allow people to hold wedding and banquet receptions for up to 300 people starting on June 1 as the state relaxes its social distancing rules put in place to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said at a press conference that on Thursday that banquet halls will be able to reopen under the same strict guidelines as bars and restaurants, where tables will have to be set six feet apart from one another and congregating is banned.

"We recognize that there are a lot of weddings and events that are important to people's lives that can and should go on," Husted said, according to Cleveland.com. "We are just asking that it be done safely — as safely as possible — to avoid the spread of the virus."Advertisement

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Dan Tierney, a spokesman for Gov. Mike DeWine, told Fox News that banquet tables have to be limited to 10 people. Because congregating is banned, dance floors and self-serve buffets are likely a no-go for upcoming ceremonies.

DeWine credited catering companies for helping him make his decision to reopen banquet halls, according to Cleveland.com.

"Caterers made a really good point. They said, 'Look, we have a place we can do it. We can provide the exact same distancing that a restaurant can,'" the governor said during his daily briefing, adding that it "makes sense."

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According to the state's guidelines, banquet and catering facilities "must not serve more than 300 guests at one time," suggesting the 300-person limit doesn't include wedding vendors.

Large gatherings have been banned in Ohio since mid-March, when the state issued stay-at-home orders to help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Weddings have been allowed throughout the order, but have been limited to 10 people. The state has had 28,758 confirmed cases and 1,691 deaths from COVID-19 so far.Advertisement

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