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Theatres and auditoriums in Maharashtra will open after October 22: CMO

The decision was announced on Twitter which read that the same will be allowed only if the owners follow all COVID safety protocols. SOP regarding the same is in the works and will be released soon.

Theatres and auditoriums in Maharashtra will open after October 22: CMO
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Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Saturday, September 25, 2021, announced that all the cinema halls across the state will be allowed to reopen from October 22, 2021. The decision has been taken as the government has decided to relax the restrictions due to reducing coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. However, strict guidelines and protocols will be released soon and theatre owners will be asked to follow them as they reopen.

The teams at working towards drafting the same and will be released in the next few weeks. Theatres were closed in the state due to the lockdown restricts imposed during the second wave.

Sharing the same on Twitter, CMO Maharashtra tweeted, "Theatres and auditoriums in Maharashtra will open after 22nd October 2021 while observing all COVID safety protocols. SOP is in the works and will be declared soon."

 

Theatre owners have expressed their happiness and welcomed the decision. Sharing his thought, CEO of INOX Leisure Limited, Alok Tandon, in an interview with NDTV, said, "We welcome the government of Maharashtra's decision to allow cinemas and multiplexes to reopen from October 22. We are completely geared up and prepared to ensure the safety of our guests and employees. This decision has steered in a lot of cheerfulness, not just for the entire film industry and its audiences, but also for the employees of the cinema exhibition sector, and their families, who have been waiting for this to happen. We are also confident that with this much-awaited announcement, content producers would also plan their releases, which should strengthen the Hindi film content pipeline in the months to come and usher in better health for the cinema exhibition industry. With the hugely successful vaccination program and significantly low COVID-19 cases, we are optimistic that people will return to cinemas as before and we will witness the same happy emotions in our lobbies."

Maharashtra was one of the worst affected states during both first and second COVID waves. As per reports released by the government, cases during the second wave were very high as oxygen cylinders and medical facilities were not enough across the country. However, the state government worked relentlessly towards improving the facilities and soon the cases dropped in Maharashtra. 

Meanwhile, vaccination drive is being conducted across districts and the health department is focusing on the availability of the vaccines. Recently released report stated that over 41 per cent population in Mumbai is vaccinated with both the doses and approximately 88 per cent has received atleast one dose of the COVID vaccine.

Despite the third COVID wave predictions, the cases across the state have reduced, and observing the same, the state government has planned to ease restrictions and permit a few activities. More than 65 lakh COVID cases have been reported in Maharashtra since March 2020, where as India has reported over 3 crore cases.

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