50% Occupancy Cap At Theatres Lifted; Revised SOPS To Be Announced Soon
Cinema hall and theatre owners can heave a sigh of relief now as the new MHA guidelines have removed the 50% cap on seating occupancy at these places. However, a set of revised SOPs will be issued to make sure the decline in COVID-19 cases continue to be so.
In a huge relief to cinema owners, theatres and movie halls can now accommodate more people in their premises as MHA has removed the 50% occupancy cap. Recently, Tamil Nadu had announced the same during the release of Master but the Centre came down hard on the Government as it violated the MHA guidelines. But now with the vaccine in sight and ever-dwindling COVID-19 cases in India, the Centre has relaxed the rules. However, revised SOPs will be announced soon by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting after deliberation with the MHA. All of this of course will be functional outside the containment zones. Master: Fans Overcrowd Cinema Halls for Thalapathy Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi Movie Despite COVID-19 Pandemic (Watch Video)
The guidelines revealed by MHA on Wednesday will come into effect from February 1, 2021, and will continue till Feb 28. Now the wait is to see what are these revised SOPs so that the halls can take the necessary measures to open their gates for full capacity. This will definitely revive one of the most deeply-affected sections of the economy since COVID-19 struck the world.
Recently, we witnessed how crazy Vijay fans went to the halls in hordes to watch Master. It did make many concerned about COVID-19 spreading further but it also revealed that people are raring to watch a movie in a theatre.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 28, 2021 01:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).