Despite daily confirmed cases of coronavirus remaining relatively high in the city, it has been announced that wedding receptions in hotels, halls, homes, temporary venues and tents in residential areas are one again to be permitted.

However, the committee has stressed the importance of all guests following precautionary guidelines as part of the wider health and safety protocols put in place to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

A report on state-run news agency WAM said: “The guidelines are aimed at protecting the health of the public and ensuring guests are protected from the risk of exposure to the virus.”

Conditions include:

* Each hall is allowed to host a maximum of 200 people while tents and homes are allowed to accommodate a maximum of 30 people, subject to compliance with the rule of one person per four square metres of venue space

* Attendees are required to wear face masks at all times and can remove them only when seated at their tables

* A maximum of five guests are allowed per table

* Attendees should avoid being seated face-to-face and maintain a distance of more than 1.5 metres between each other

* Tables should be placed at least two metres apart from each other

* The duration of the event at halls, hotels, homes, temporary venues and tents should not exceed four hours

* Elderly people and those with chronic conditions should be advised not to attend social functions

* Any person experiencing symptoms such as coughing, or fever must refrain from attending events

A set of mandatory guidelines have been issued to hotels, halls and service providers.

The committee said that guidelines related to wedding receptions will be stringently enforced. "Violators will be held accountable for lack of compliance with the rules," it warned.