MOST Chinese cinemas will be allowed to reopen next week with social-distancing rules following months of coronavirus closures, said authorities today, as domestic infections remain at zero for 10 straight days.

Movie theatres in “low-risk” areas of the country can resume operations on Monday, but must screen patrons for fever and enforce mask-wearing, said the China Film Administration.

It said cinemas are also required to sell tickets for no more than 30% of the available seats at each screening, and must keep groups of moviegoers at least 1m apart.

Chinese film authorities in March announced that they would reopen cinemas, which have been shut since late January, but swiftly reversed the decision the same month after fresh Covid-19 clusters were discovered across the nation.

Today, China reported only one new case – an imported infection – and said most of the country is classified as “low risk” for outbreaks.

Cinemas have suffered a massive blow to earnings this year as they are among the last businesses to reopen even as fresh infections dwindle and the country slowly returns to normal.

China’s largest cinema chain, Wanda Film, yesterday said it expects to report a loss of at least 1.5 billion yuan (RM914 million) for the first half of the year. – AFP, July 16, 2020.