Celebrating a wedding amid the Ebola outbreak: No kisses or close contact, but love lives here

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — There were no kisses, long embraces or a crowded dance floor packed with well-wishers. But there was love.

As Congo is battling an Ebola disease outbreak that has killed nearly 100 people out of the more than 500 confirmed cases, local authorities have raced to slow the disease with strict measures, including by limiting public gatherings and enforcing social distancing.

For Jean Claude Érable and his bride Solange Hahati, celebrating their wedding on Saturday in such conditions meant having some family members and friends absent on one of their happiest days.

“We had planned 300 guests (but) only 50 people were allowed to enter,” Hahati told The Associated Press. “It was really difficult because we wanted to celebrate with our friends.”

The latest Ebola disease outbreak, caused by the rare Bundibugyo virus, is concentrated in Congo’s eastern province of Ituri. There are 515 confirmed infections, including 91 deaths, according to Congolese health authorities. The number of cases is believed to be higher because the outbreak was confirmed weeks late, and response has been challenging also because the virus has no approved vaccine or treatment.

To help slow the spread, local officials have urged people to limit physical contact, wash their hands regularly and report suspected cases quickly.

At the Catholic Church in Bunia, the capital of Ituri, where Érable and Hahati celebrated their love story, the Mass featured a number of couples who were present for their weddings.

The precautions, though not always adhered to, are reshaping social life in a country where weddings are typically vibrant, daylong celebrations bringing together hundreds of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

As the choir chorused and as brides in white gowns walked down the aisle, the handful of relatives and friends present inside the church maintained social distance, cheered and snapped photos. Outside, a crowd sang excitedly.

“We are adhering to the preventive measures and respecting social distancing,” said Érable, the groom. “I must say that there is no problem, no obstacle, because we are doing our best to respect all the measures dictated by the state.”

His bride smiled as he slipped a wedding ring onto her finger. Outside, after the wedding Mass, she gleefully displayed the ring as her husband walked her to the car.

The couple moved part of their reception outdoors, where guests could spread out more easily.

Church leaders say adapting has become essential.

Some families have already postponed their scheduled weddings in light of the new health measures, said the Rev. Aimé Lokanabego, the priest who officiated their wedding Mass.

The church is not holding other religious events that involve higher risks of exposure, such as baptism, he said.

“This is, in a way, how we are dealing with this Ebola epidemic at our level. The situation is critical,” said Lokanabego.

Wedding guests cheer at a wedding ceremony amid an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, June 6, 2026. 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

Altar boys arrive at a chapel during a wedding ceremony amid an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A newly married couple walks down the aisle at their wedding as guests shower them with confetti amid an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A bride puts a ring on the groom's finger during a wedding ceremony amid an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

A newly married couple walks down the aisle at their wedding amid an Ebola outbreak in Ituri Province in Bunia, Congo, Saturday, June 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Moses Sawasawa)

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Boris formed Monday and was expected to bring heavy rain, flooding and possible mudslides to parts of southern Mexico's Pacific coast, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Boris was located about 85 miles (135 kilometers) southeast of Acapulco and 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of Punta Maldonado, according to the Miami-based weather center. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was moving northeast at 2 mph (3 kph).

Boris was expected to turn to the north, bringing rainfall of 4 to 10 inches (10 to 25 centimeters) to coastal areas of the states of Guerrero and Oaxaca through Monday night. The storm was forecast to make landfall along the coast of Guerrero by Monday evening, the center said.

“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” the center said.

A tropical storm warning was in effect from Laguna de Chacahua in Oaxaca to Tecpan de Galeana in Guerrero, with tropical storm conditions expected in the area within 24 hours.

Boris was forecast to weaken once the center reaches the coast and dissipate inland by Tuesday. The storm isn’t expected to impact Mexico’s three World Cup host cities.

Boris is the second named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, which started May 15. Tropical Storm Amanda formed June 3 far out to sea, posing no threat to land.

The Atlantic hurricane season began June 1, but no cyclones have formed in that basin yet this year.

This satellite image provided by CIRA/NOAA, shows Tropical Storm Boris forming just off the coast of Guerrero Mexico, on Monday, June 8, 2026. (CIRA/NOAA via AP)