ALBANY, New York, USA (AP) – New York theaters may reopen with reduced seating on March 5, Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday.
Theaters can only operate at 25% capacity and no more than 50 people will be admitted per show, Cuomo said.
His announcement came nearly a year after the governor decided to shut down state-level cinemas in mid-March along with concert halls and nightclubs as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 in crowded and closed venues. Cuomo relaxed restrictions last fall to allow theaters to reopen at smaller capacity in most counties outside of densely populated New York.
The governor said movie theaters must require and enforce assigned venues, mask use and social distancing rules. He said the rooms must also meet state air filtration standards.
Cuomo has pushed this year to begin loosening COVID-19 measures in business in hopes of reviving the economy hit by a drop in sales tax.
The state weathered a spike in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in mid-January.
Cases and hospitalizations are declining overall across the state, but parts of New York – especially the Bronx – still have high levels of infection and hospitalizations are slowly declining.
Cuomo’s move was praised by theater owners who have been pushing for months to ease restrictions and who expect Cuomo to expand capacity to 50% soon.
“New York is a major market for film in America,” said National Association of Theater Owners spokesman Patrick Corcoran. “Reopening there gives film distributors confidence to set and meet release dates and is an important step in the recovery of the entire industry.”
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