The Republic of Congo has announced a 45-day ban on weddings, a move that it said would help to stem the spread of coronavirus, reports AFP.

“Ceremonies for civil, religious and traditional marriages and dowries are being suspended for a duration of 45 days,” the communications minister, Thierry Moungalla, said in a statement read on public television.

The Central African country, also known as Congo-Brazzaville to distinguish it from the far larger Democratic Republic of Congo, is facing a third wave of the virus, he said, citing its national anti-Covid team.