Maharashtra Lockdown: Uddhav Thackeray Makes Big Announcement, Allows Cinema Halls To Reopen With 50 % Capacity From Oct 22 | 10-Point Guidelines Here

Maharashtra Lockdown: In the guidelines, the state government said that the Aarogya Setu App showing safe status shall be mandatory for all visitors.

Maharashtra Lockdown News Today: Giving a big relief to the film industry, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued fresh guidelines and allowed the cinema halls in the state to reopen with 50 per cent capacity from October 22. It must be noted that the pandemic had an affected film industry as many movie shoots and theatres across India were halted shut for many months.

Issuing fresh guidelines, the state government said that the cinema halls, theatres and multiplexes will be allowed to open with 50 per cent seating capacity. The state also stated that visitors will be asked to show their ‘safe status’ on the Aarogya Setu App.

The state government in the guidelines said that the covid-appropriate behaviour including masking, physical distancing, covering of face while coughing/sneezing, regular hand sanitisation etc need to be followed at the cinema halls.

The move to reopen the cinema halls The decision to allow cinema halls to operate came after filmmaker Rohit Shetty and Dr Jayantilal Gada, Chairman and MD of Pen Studios met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray last month to discuss the reopening of the theatres across the state.

Last month, the Multiplex Association of India (MAI), along with leading multiplex chains PVR and INOX had urged the Maharashtra government to reopen theatres in the state on an urgent basis.

Full list of guidelines

1. The state government said that no exhibition of film shall be allowed in containment zones.
2. Moreover, the Aarogya Setu App showing safe status shall be mandatory for all visitors.
3. Double vaccination shots must for staff of theatres / multiplexes and food court / areas.
4. The state government said that the Entry and Exit should be done in a staggered row-wise manner to avoid crowding.
5. In the guidelines, the state said that sufficient time interval between successive screenings on a single screen as well as on various screens in a multiplex shall be provided.
6. The occupancy of the cinema halls, multiplexes shall not be more than 50 percent of capacity.
7. Authorities should make efforts to avoid overcrowding in the common areas.
8. Staggered timings shall be followed for multiple screens to avoid crowding.
9. Contact number shall be taken at the time or booking of tickets to facilitate contact tracing.
10. Food or beverages will not be allowed inside the Screening Auditorium.

Corona cases: Maharashtra on Monday recorded 1,736 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest daily count in nearly 17 months, and 36 fresh fatalities, taking the infection tally to 65,79,608 and the toll to 1,39,578.

Among the eight regions of Maharashtra, the Mumbai region reported the highest 731 new COVID-19 cases, followed by 482 from the Pune region. The Nashik region reported 359 new cases, Kolhapur 81, Latur 63, Aurangabad 14, while three infections each were registered in Akola and Nagpur regions.

Among the 36 fresh fatalities, the highest 18 fatalities were reported from the Pune region, followed by 10 fatalities from the Nashik region.The Mumbai region reported five deaths, Latur two and the Kolhapur region one. Significantly, Aurangabad, Akola and Nagpur regions did not report any fresh fatalities.