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Kemp... said specifically that fitness centers, bowling alleys, body art studios, barbers, hair and nail salons, and massage therapy businesses can reopen as early Friday, April 24. Theaters and restaurants will be allowed to open on Monday, April 27 while bars and night clubs will remain closed for now, Kemp added.
Among Fauci’s top concerns: that there will be new outbreaks in locations where social distancing has eased, but public health officials don’t yet have the capabilities to rapidly test for the virus, isolate any new cases and track down everyone that an infected person came into contact with.
“I’ll guarantee you, once you start pulling back there will be infections. It’s how you deal with the infections that’s going count,” Fauci told the AP.
Key is “getting people out of circulation if they get infected, because once you start getting clusters, then you’re really in trouble,” he added.
...Looking ahead, Fauci said a second wave of infection isn’t inevitable. But he added: “if you mean it goes way down and then come September, October, November, we have another peak, I have to say I would not be surprised. I would hope that if and when that occurs, that we jump all over it in a much, much more effective way than we have in these past few months.”
By Lauren Neergaard and Julie Pace | The Associated Press
PUBLISHED: April 14, 2020 at 11:27 a.m. | UPDATED: April 14, 2020 at 11:29 a.m.
I'd rather see the theaters closed for most of May then re-open and have a full summer of business starting sometime in June rather than open April 27 and have to close most of the summer because of a second major outbreak cluster---which is predicted.
It's not just up to the theaters, but also places like restaurants, were the chance of catching the virus may be even greater.
This is a very delicate balance between economic interest and the health of the people at large. Running my own business and being impacted by this whole thing myself, I feel the pain, but I think the health of the people at large is still more important... If you allow it to flair up, it will be out of control in no-time. We've seen in places where the health-care system was overrun with cases, that it's really not just a joke. While the virus may just be like a common cold for some, we've seen that for others, it can be life-threatening.
We'd love to be open as well economically, completely understand why people are screaming for our drive-in to be open. The risks are pretty lopsided in my view. We can, and will be able to operate concessions and box office without contact or even letting people inside the building. It's the damned bathrooms, not a lot of risk to customers to slip in quickly or not at all, but for our kids or family to constantly clean public restrooms that are fairly confined with hundreds of people using them is my only real worry. With a staff of 6 or 8 of us, one gets sick and we need to close again because in theory we're all exposed. We're looking forward to more clarity, which likely only comes with time. I continue to guesstimate something like a June 26th or July 3rd opening for us.
OK. A bad idea in my opinion but that's immaterial.
But... what will they show? There are only limited release independent films scheduled: 2 in April; with quite a few limited - and 2 wide - releases still scheduled for May.
No major studio releases that I can find, through to the end of May.
These indy titles may actually "release", so they can time out the exclusive window and get them out for streaming etc. asap. I don't know the rules on this: does a movie have to actually be have a ticketed show in a cinema to start the exclusive window clock?
So unless some people are desperate to go out, to knowingly expose themselves to the infection risk to see a no-name indy feature... can a cinema cover their staff costs if they open a week from now?
I don't know, but I think it unlikely that any of the chains will open in Georgia right away. Too much risk of a bad outcome.
Owner of Sask. drive-in theatre confident his business will reopen next monthTwilite Drive-in in Wolseley, Sask., hoping to reopen May 15 with conditions David Shield · CBC News · Posted: Apr 22, 2020 1:42 PM CT | Last Updated: April 22
While it looked a little dicey earlier this year, Don Zaba is confident the Twilite Drive-in Theatre in Wolseley, Sask., will start screening films again in May.
Drive-in theatres were included in the list of non-essential businesses shut down last month, but Zaba believes that's about to change.
He said he was assured by his local MLA that he would be able to start screening films by next month.
"It was pretty exciting, but we have to be on the cautious side," Zaba said.
"We want to control the virus," he said.
The move could be part of a larger reopening of the province's economy. Premier Scott Moe is expected to supply more information on this during a live television broadcast Wednesday evening. The provincial ministry of health said discussions are continuing around opening some businesses, but no official decisions have been made. Until those decisions are announced, those businesses are to remain closed.
Zaba said drive-in theatres are uniquely positioned to operate in an age of physical distancing, as viewers normally stay in their cars.
However, some changes would have to be made, he acknowledged. Concessions would be limited to take-out only, for example.
The owner is more concerned about what movies he'll be able to play. Many movie studios have pushed back their first-run opening dates by months.
He believes his first screening for the year will be Trolls: World Tour on May 15. Concession concerns
Meanwhile, the operator of another drive-in theatre in Saskatchewan is concerned about potential new rules she may face in the future.
Tara Hayden, manager of the Jubilee Drive-in in Manitou Beach, Sask., said that while she hasn't heard of any pending opening date, she has heard about potential restrictions the drive-in might face.
She's been told cars may have to be separated by four to six metres, and only one person will be allowed out of the car at a time.
"This year is going to be very different," she said.
"There's definitely going to be some changes and some challenges."
Hayden said she was most concerned with anything that might affect concession sales, which account for a large part of her business.
"The movie companies take a big chunk of the ticket proceeds and so really the money is made in the concession," she said.
"If we can't have people come in to the concession, that might be a challenge."
Over here, some drive-ins hand out preordered snack bags with the ticket check. They may hand them in through pulled down side windows, or just hang them over the wing mirrors.
Sorry, governors. No matter what you do, movies won’t be back for a very long time.
By
Alyssa Rosenberg, Washington Post
April 22, 2020 at 12:07 p.m. PDT
Of all the activities shut down so we can fight the covid-19 pandemic, going to the movies is what I miss most. Streaming movies and TV at home is no substitute: the screen is smaller, the picture quality is poorer and most of all, the distractions are closer at hand and more sharply insistent. And there’s nothing quite like the joy of glancing over at a longtime cinematic companion in the next seat when you know a joke will tickle their particular funny bone, or that a stunt will leave them agog.
As such, Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to allow movie theaters to reopen next week seems like a balm to desperate movie lovers, or at least those unconcerned about the coronavirus. If only that were so. Kemp’s action just illustrates how long it’s going to be until going to the movies feels anything close to normal again.
To reopen, theaters have to rehire the staff they laid off. They have to fundamentally rethink ticketing practices to maintain social distancing. Like everyone else, the movies are going to have to win back public confidence before audiences return. And two of the qualities that make movie-going so congenial may also make it feel risky to return to theaters.
Even as they add plush recliners and improved concessions, modern movie theaters are hardly the cinema palaces of the past. Lots of us have memories of being transported in movie theaters in spite of the light crunch of stale popcorn underfoot and the sugary whiff of spilled soda in the recirculated air. The very laid-back nature of many movie theaters, however appealing in ordinary times, does not inspire confidence in the aftermath of a public health crisis. The idea that your laconic neighborhood ticket-taker should be responsible for sterilizing a theater in between showings or handling disputes between patrons when someone sits in a socially-distanced seat other than the one they were assigned is laughable, and not in a romantic comedy way.
And, though we may not think of it as such, going to the movies requires us to trust our fellow patrons. The great appeal of going to a theater rather than merely watching something at home is that the all-encompassing experience takes us away from ourselves and our awareness of the world around us. When we decide to spend two hours sitting in a dark room full of strangers, we are taking a chance that no one will use the lowered lights to lift a backpack or behave inappropriately.
A pandemic, especially one in which many infected people show no symptoms, upends that trust. The vast majority of us would never contemplate rifling someone else’s purse while they’re distracted by a movie. But how can we promise not to infect someone else with a disease if we’re not even sure that we have it? When the very act of sharing two hours worth of air with someone you don’t know well can be deadly, it will be difficult to convince people that it’s worth that risk to see the latest superhero extravaganza on a very big screen the weekend it’s available.
And we’ll only be making those calculations if there are movies for us to go see at all. By one estimate, there was just one movie theater in America — a drive-in theater in Ocala, Fla. — that showed new movies last weekend and reported its take at the box office.
We might get the opportunity to see “Mulan” in theaters in July. But even those rescheduled release dates may be optimistic. China reopened and then re-shuttered 600 movie theaters as part of a halting return to normalcy in late March. Studios in the United States could decide it’s not ultimately worth opening a $200 million movie on one weekend only for theater chains to close again the next, or to debut before audiences feel confident enough to venture out in public. The number of movies that have pushed back all the way to 2021 or even 2022 makes that reticence clear.
Kemp has the power to let Georgia theaters reopen. But neither he nor any other leader can restore the cultural calendar and movie-going ethos that’s been so thoroughly upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Movies aren’t the most important part of American life, just one of the most pleasurable. And a summer without superheroes and an autumn without Oscar contenders are melancholy illustrations of how long it will be until the movies feel like an escape again.
Here in Oklahoma the state's governor, Kevin Stitt, has given his okay to re-open a variety of "non-essential" businesses starting May 1. The initial list included personal care businesses like hair and nail salons, barber shops, spas and pet groomers. Restaurants would be allowed to re-open their dining rooms. Movie theaters, churches, gyms, tattoo parlors and venues for sporting events would be allowed to re-open too. But guidelines for social distancing would have to be followed.
I'm not sure how this approach is supposed to work. Oklahoma hasn't been affected by COVID-19 cases nearly as badly as many other states. But we haven't flattened our curve yet either. New confirmed cases each day are still outpacing the number of recoveries. We really need the number of recoveries to be outpacing new cases by an accelerating margin to be able to put an end to this pandemic.
For many businesses given the green light to re-open there is a giant question about legal liability. Can these businesses get sued for allowing people to meet in a given location and infect each other? As far as I can tell that question has not been answered. So movie theaters really have to worry about that liability.
Originally posted by Dave Macaulay
But... what will they show? There are only limited release independent films scheduled: 2 in April; with quite a few limited - and 2 wide - releases still scheduled for May.
This is essentially the real problem for movie theaters. Just because the Governor in Georgia says movie theaters can re-open doesn't mean they'll be able to do so. Movie distribution is a global business, not a local or state by state business. Any commercial movie theater is dependent on those studios for content. We're not going to see many theaters in the United States re-opening at all until the studios are ready to resume releasing movies on a nation-wide level.
I imagine some people may be asking what would be wrong with releasing movies in theaters where states have given the go-ahead to re-open. I think it would be a money-losing proposition big time for distributors. An all-clear directive from a state governor may not over-ride local emergency orders that might still keep theaters shut on a specific location by location basis. Maybe some people would flock to any theaters that were open. But I'm sure plenty of other people would be scared shit-less at taking the chance. Any movie that was released in a limited number of theaters would surely be a prime target for pirates.
The Government of Saskatchewan just released their five-phase plan to "reopen Saskatchewan". Only phase 1 and 2 have dates attached (May 4 and May 19), and movie theatres are listed in phase 4 but with a maximum of 30 people per "public gathering".
I think a lot of people just won't think it's worth the risk of going to the theatre under those conditions.
I think the toilet-situation will eventually require someone being stationed at the toilet. Maybe you can just open the men's room as you won't be allowed to have more than one visiting. You can also close all but one stall and urinal. You probably will have to disinfect all relevant surfaces after each visit. So, you need to implement a queue in front of your toilet...
You watch the cinemas may open Fri April 27 in Georgia, give them a few weeks with every other row closed off in the theatres plus masks and people may start getting sick again because the public in Georgia will not keep their distance from unknown sick C19 people.
A great law suit, people go to a re opened closed cinema and then get C19 once inside. I think the movie chains need to wait till July 1 2020 to semi open up, with a full opening for Xmas 2020. Wait till the winter 2020 when the reg flu hits along with C19 hanging around. Small town cinemas maybe can turn on their projectors this late June. How many of these closed up large multi cinemas have had a good disinfect cleaning the last few months, not many I bet.
I think most healthy movie people will avoid any cinemas for at least 6 months or they can obtain a safe vaccine. Stay at home, go for a walk for a few more months, watch a DVD or go online and see a semi new movie or end up in the hospital or worse if your immune system can't take the strong C19. Take plenty of zinc, vit D3 & C !
Forget the 6 foot rule, If someone coughs or sneezes up to 27 feet in a closed movie cinema or auditorium you may get this virus some doctors warn. Do you think the movie owners are going to wipe down all the surfaces between shows on the railings and seats ect ?
The governor of Georgia wants to be a lockdown hero and run for office some day at the expense of the public.
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