SHANGHAI: Shanghai announced Thursday that the first batch of cinemas in the city will resume businesses on Saturday, a new sign that life is returning to normal in China as the coronavirus outbreak is subsiding.
The first 205 movie theaters will present nearly 20 films in the first round of arrangement, including Oscar-winning “Green Book” and “Capernaum,” according to Yin Xin, spokeswoman for the Shanghai municipal government at a press conference.
To lower the risk of infection, cinemas should strictly implement epidemic prevention measures, and audiences are required to have their body temperature tested and present their health codes at entrance and wear masks during the show time.
The interval between the two movies should be at least 20 minutes to leave enough time for disinfection, according to Yin, and cinemas should sell non-adjacent tickets or sell seats every other row.
Local government has also worked with Taopiaopiao, a popular movie ticket-selling mobile app under Alibaba Group to offer viewers a 10 yuan (about 1.4 U.S. dollars) discount for each ticket between March 28 and April 26 on the platform, and each Taopiaopiao user can buy a maximum of four discounted tickets during the period.
Shanghai is home to over 380 movie theaters, and more cinemas will resume operation in an orderly manner, according to local authorities. – Agencies
