Movies Reopening in New York

Governor Cuomo announced that movie theatres will be reopening in most of New York on October 23. The theatres will open with limited capacity and safety protocols to ensure safety. 

Movie theatres have been pushing to open for a while now, where there are low infection rates in the state, yet Cuomo has denied this opportunity until now.

Many counties in New York State are still not permitted to reopen movie theatres such as Broome, Chautauqua, and  Tioga. To avoid a spike in cases, Cuomo said, “Theaters can only open outside of New York City in counties that have COVID-19 positivity rates of less than 2 percent on a 14-day average and do not have any cluster zones.” He wants to make theatres 25% capacity with up to 50 people allowed in one movie room. 

Many new rules are brought into play with the pandemic and the movies. “State guidance on the reopening of theaters includes the following conditions…”. Now, customers must wear their masks at all times, except if they are eating or drinking socially distanced. There will be assigned seats, and air filtration, ventilation, and purification must be met by all theatres. There will be extra staff members on duty to help control occupancy, seating, and traffic. All of these protocols must be followed in order to keep the theatres open.

Cuomo stated, “We hit 160,000 tests in one day, which is a record number and is the highest we’ve ever done.” This is why he wants theatres to only open with a 25% capacity. The statewide positivity rate is 1.11%, and the positive testing rates in hotspot areas is now up to 4.34%. 

This is another stepping stone in the pandemic. The reopening of lots of different public places such as malls, restaurants, libraries, and more have been slowly but surely opening. With movies now adding to this list, it makes life in 2020 feel a little more normal. Hopefully, citizens can enjoy themselves and the long awaited theatres, while still being cautious and safe.