Couple Says ‘I Do’ In Hospital Despite COVID-19 Scare

Indeed, there is love in the time of COVID-19. After a groom tested positive and was hospitalized for COVID-19, he and his fiancée decided to get married in the COVID ward of a government hospital.

Sarath Mon, 28, of Kainakary in Alappuzha, married Abhirami, 20, of Thekkanaryad after the District Collector greenlit their wedding. The bride wore a PPE kit to the ceremony, instead of the traditional wedding saree, while Sarath donned a blue shirt and white dhoti.

According to reports, Sarath was working in the Gulf and had contracted the virus after coming home from the region. Later, his mother, Jijimol, also tested positive.

During their wedding preparations, the groom and his mother had some breathing difficulties. Both mother and son were both transferred to the Alappuzha Vandanam medical college.

Since the couple originally planned their wedding on April 25 a year ago, they see no reason to postpone the wedding and decided to hold it at the hospital after obtaining permission from the District Collector.

Both families held the wedding at the auspicious 'muhurtham' time of the day while hospital staff gave consent for the wedding under strict health protocols.

Other than wearing the PPE garment, the couples were asked that only a maximum of two relatives should attend the wedding. After the wedding ritual, Sarath stayed in the hospital while Abhirami awaits her new husband at her uncle’s home.

Couples like Sarath and Abhirami were lucky to hold this momentous day despite the outbreak. There have been other stories of couples tying the knot in hospitals when the pandemic hit the country.

In a report by the Johns Hopkins University, Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE), there are 28,469 people tested positive for COVID-19 in Kerala on Sunday, April 25. Scientists predicted that the state cases may go up to 40,000 per day.

While Kerala continued to see a spike in COVID-spike, a total of 8,122 people recovered from the deadly disease with a morbidity of 30 cases in the region. Overall, the state sees over 14 million cases of COVID-19 with a positivity rate of 22.47%.