With Coronavirus pandemic and nationwide lockdown announced in March, cinema halls remained shut for over half a year and the entertainment industry went through the roughest phase in a lifetime. While the government excluded entertainment in all their earlier Unlock phases, Home Ministry in its Unlock 5.0 guidelines allowed to reopen cinema halls at 50 % capacity starting October 15.
While the announcement was made on the September 30, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced Standard Opening Procedures for the cinema halls that are to be followed upon reopening starting October 15. Prakash Javadekar took to his social media handle to share the issued guidelines publically. In the tweets, 24 guidelines were shared that must be followed to check the spread of Coronavirus.
Here are the 24 guidelines of Standard Opening Procedures set by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
1. Occupancy of the auditorium shall not be more than 50%.
2. Adequate physical distancing while seating.
3. Seats “Not to be occupied” shall be marked as such.
4. Provision for hand wash and hand sanitizers.
5. Installation and use of Arogya Setu App shall be advised to all.
6. Thermal screening to be carried out. Only asymptomatic individuals shall be allowed.
7. Self-monitoring of health and reporting any illness.
8. Staggered show timings shall be followed for different screens.
9. Digital modes of payment to be encouraged.
10. Regular cleaning and disinfection of the box office and other areas.
11. Sufficient number of counters at the box office shall be opened.
12. Audience encouraged to avoid movement during the intermission.
13. Floor markers shall be used for physical distancing for queue management at box office.
14. Purchase of ticket at box office to be open throughout the day, advance booking to be allowed to avoid crowding.
15. Spitting shall be strictly prohibited.
16. Respiratory etiquettes to be strictly followed.
17. Only packaged food and beverages shall be allowed; no deliver inside hall.
18. Multiple sale counters for food and beverage.
19. Measures for the safety of sanitization staff such as adequate provisions for gloves, boots, maks, PPE, etc.
20. Contact number shall be taken to facilitate contact tracing.
21. Sufficient number of counters at the box office shall be opened.
22. COVID-19 related stigmatization of unruly behaviour shall be dealt with strictly.
23. Temperature setting of all air conditioning should be in the range of 24-30 degree C.
24. Public service announcements on wearing masks, physical distancing and hand hygiene to be made before and after screening and during intermission.
With the aforementioned guidelines, cinema halls are to be opened on the 15th of October for the public. While the majority of movies released during the lockdown are bounded by the OTT platforms contracts, Indoo Ki Jawani starring Kiara Advani will be the first Bollywood movie to premiere at the big screens after nationwide lockdown.
Keep reading EntNetwrk Blog for more updates.
