Advertisement
Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaPeople & Culture

Coronavirus: Chinese cinemas told to close just a week after reopening

  • China Film Administration issues notice on Thursday as government seeks to prevent a new wave of Coivd-19 cases, after locally transmitted infection is reported in Zhejiang
  • Cinemas in some parts of the country did reopen on March 20, but film-goers’ joy was short-lived

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Beijing said it was working on a support package for the cinema industry, which has been hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Weibo
Jun Mai
Just a week after being given the green light to reopen, cinemas across China have been ordered to close once more as the government seeks to strike a balance between rebooting the economy and preventing a second wave of Covid-19 cases.

The notice was issued by the China Film Administration on Thursday, according to a report the same day by local news outlet Caixin.com. It was not otherwise made public.

While cinemas in some parts of the country have been back in business since March 20, those in major cities remained closed. The 24 million or so people who live in the eastern metropolis of Shanghai had been looking forward to their screens reopening on Friday.

Cinema managers were quoted by Caixin as saying that the closure notice might have been prompted by a locally transmitted case of Covid-10 that was reported on Thursday in Zhejiang province, which neighbours Shanghai.

The infection was one of 55 reported across China that day, but the only one that was not imported, the report said.

China’s cinema industry has been among the worst hit by the health crisis. Earlier on Thursday, the National Development and Reform Commission said it had spoken to industry executives and relevant organisations, and had drawn up proposals for a support package.

“The novel coronavirus pandemic has had a severe impact on the movie industry, and the industry chain has seen an all-round disruption,” the economic planning agency said on its website.

Advertisement