Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp announced today that movie theaters, subject to special social distancing and sanitation mandates, are allowed to reopen next Monday April 27. Per CNN, Georgia is ranked 11th in the nation in regards to its coronavirus cases which number 18,9K. There is a debate among federal, state and local governments about how to re-open the nation’s economy as cases continue to spike nationwide.
“We’ll get Georgians back to work safely,” said Kemp who announced a three-phase approach today. It’s one of exercised caution per Kemp and not one which should be perceived as business as usual.
On Saturday, Kemp permitted drive-in theaters to remain open, complying with directives.
Theaters will be allowed to reopen with private social clubs and restaurant dine-in services. That said, bars, nightclubs, operators of amusement park rides and live performance venues will remain closed along with schools which will continue to focus on social distance learning. “I will not be going back on that decision” said Kemp about the closing of schools.
Tatoo parlors and hair salons can open this Friday.
It’s not clear yet which chains will attempt to re-open. Many exhibitors have informed us they’ll likely program catalog titles initially, and will take implement enhanced cleaning procedures and auditorium capacity limits.
Kemp said we’re poised to see “a new norm” in the COVID-19 climate and that technology could be on the horizon, specifically “Infrared heat-seeking devices when you walk through a certain establishment”. Movie theaters, among those, could put those into use.
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