China’s cinemas may now reopen for business if they follow coronavirus prevention protocols like capping visitor numbers, new guidelines issued by the country’s top administrative body said Friday.
The guidelines are the first official signal that Chinese authorities have softened their strict stance on exhibition sector closures. However, no dates were mentioned. As of Friday evening, no films had been programmed and no cinemas reopened.
Nevertheless, the news was met with an outpouring of enthusiasm on Chinese social media, with the hashtag “Cinemas Are Going to Reopen” viewed more than 340 million times on the Twitter-like social media platform Weibo by Friday night. “Finally, there’s a glimmer of hope!” wrote one enthusiastic cinephile.
China’s cabinet, the State Council, said that “cinemas, theaters, recreation halls and other enclosed entertainment and leisure venues may hold all types of necessary meetings and exhibition activities” in its list of new policy recommendations for how to “normalize prevention and control” of the deadly disease.
China should “adopt methods like appointment systems and limiting visitor numbers to open parks, tourist attractions, sports venues, libraries, museums, art galleries and other indoor venues” like cinemas, the body said in a statement dated to Thursday but issued publicly Friday evening. It also urged the country to “fully open” other types of businesses key to daily living like supermarkets, restaurants and shopping malls.
Venues should strengthen ventilation and implement daily cleaning and disinfection, it added, while members of the public should continue to wear masks in closed, crowded places and do their best to maintain social distance.
Although restaurants, factories and offices across the country have long been operational again, cinemas and indoor entertainment venues considered less economically essential and higher risk to citizens have been singled out for prolonged closures.
Will you go to the cinema once it reopens ?
source: gov.cn,variety.com
