Coronavirus case in India: Movie theaters ready to reopen in new normal COVID-19
New Delhi:
Movie theaters in several parts of the country ready to open after seven months in the shadow of COVID-19. While theaters and multiplexes will remain closed in states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Chhattisgarh, they will open this week in several locations, including Delhi and parts of Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat, with strict do’s and don’ts according to the new normal COVID-19.
Ushering in a new era of movie viewing, the Union government has authorized the reopening of multiplexes, cinemas and theaters from Thursday as part of a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs). The Home Office (MHA) has left it up to the states to take a final appeal on the matter.
PVR Cinemas, India’s largest film operator with 845 screens in 176 properties in 71 cities, said Wednesday that 10 states and four Union Territories have given the green light for the cinemas to reopen.
India’s coronavirus count soared to 72.39 lakh cases on Wednesday after another peak of 63,509 infections, government data showed. The death toll stood at 1.10,586 after 730 deaths recorded in one day.
Here are the updates on the coronavirus (COVID-19) cases:
Mizoram’s COVID-19 tally reached 2,220 with eight new cases, according to the state government on Thursday.
According to the State Department of Information and Public Relations (DIPR), the number of active cases in the state stands at 112, while 2,108 patients have been cured and discharged so far. The state has not reported any deaths from the disease.
India broke the nine crore mark for COVID-19 testing on Wednesday after 11,45,015 tests were carried out for the disease, according to the Department of Health and Family Welfare.
Germany saw a record daily increase in confirmed coronavirus cases, adding 6,638 cases and bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 341,223, data from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for Infectious Diseases showed on Thursday.
According to RKI data, Germany’s previous record daily increase was 6,294 on March 28, and Thursday’s death toll showed the reported death toll increased by 33 to 9,710.
By European standards, Germany has seen relatively low infection and death rates so far during the pandemic, but new daily cases have jumped in recent weeks and Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned there could be have 19,200 infections per day if current trends continue.
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday discussed the COVID situation and its handling in the state with senior government officials and collectors.
The chief minister said Odisha has always performed well in managing Covid. All indicators are better than the national average. New infections are down in most districts.
The situation has also improved in the higher infection districts such as Cuttack, Khordha and Puri.
Mainland China reported 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Oct. 14, up from 20 a day earlier, the country’s health authorities said on Thursday. The National Health Commission said 10 of the cases were imported infections from abroad, up from 14 a day earlier.
A new local infection has been reported in Qingdao, where the city government is seeking to test every person this week due to recent cases linked to a hospital treating imported infections.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against complacency about the coronavirus death rate, saying that with the growing number of cases, mortality will also increase.
New cases strike 100,000 cases in Europe every day. Nearly 20,000 infections have been reported in Britain, while Italy, Switzerland and Russia were among the nations with record numbers of cases.
As deaths worldwide fell to around 5,000 a day from April’s high of over 7,500, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said the number of cases was increasing in intensive care units.
Nagaland’s COVID-19 tally rose to 7,416 after 53 more people tested positive for the virus on Wednesday, while 85 patients recovered from the infection, bringing the number cured to 5,855, the minister said of Health S Pangnyu Phom.
“53 positive cases of COVID-19 were detected today. Kohima 25, Mon 14, Dimapur 10, Peren 2 and one each in Tuensang and Zunheboto districts,” the minister tweeted.
He also said 80 patients recovered from COVID-19 in Kohima, three in Dimapur and two in Peren.
Nagaland’s recovery rate is 78.95%. The state now has 1,473 active cases, said additional director of health and family welfare, Dr Denis Hangsing.
A total of 27 patients infected with COVID-19 have died so far and 17 of them are confirmed to have succumbed to the disease.
At least 181 other people tested positive for COVID-19 in Tripura on Wednesday, bringing the total to 28,859, a health department official said.
The death toll rose to 315 and one more person succumbed to the virus, he said.
The western district of Tripura, comprising the state capital Agartala, has so far been the cause of 170 deaths from COVID-19.
Tripura now has 3,503 active cases, while 25,018 people have recovered. Twenty-three patients have migrated to other states, the official said.
The district of Pune has reported 1,237 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing its number of cases to 3,10430, a health official said Wednesday evening.
The Land of Death reached 7,297 with 47 dead.
“Of the 1,237 cases, 528 are within the boundaries of the Pune Municipal Corporation, which has so far registered 1,555,595 patients.
However, 1,413 patients also left city hospitals during the day, ”the official said.
Germany will introduce stricter measures on gatherings and wearing masks to tackle the surge in coronavirus infections, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday after talks with the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states.
Europe’s largest economy will begin to impose limits on people who gather at events as well as mandatory masks in crowded places when new infections in an area hit 35 per 100,000 in seven days, earlier than under the previous criterion used of 50 per 100,000.
“I am convinced that what we do now these days and weeks will be decisive for the question of how we get through this pandemic,” Merkel said.
“We can see that … the infection rates are increasing and we have a very high infection rate in some areas,” she added.
“We must therefore avoid an uncontrolled or exponential increase.”
The government of Karnataka on Thursday authorized the reopening of cinemas and multiplexes, with a capacity of 50 percent of seats. The state government issued guidelines that include thermal projection, social distancing, seats that are “ not to be occupied ” must be marked as such when booking and appropriate disinfection.
As per guidelines, no film exhibits will be permitted in containment areas.
Film screening activities in cinemas / theaters / multiplexes will be governed in accordance with the directives in force from the Ministry of the Interior, the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the Department of Information and Public Relations and other relevant departments and district administrations.
