Just as we begin to talk about China reopening cinemas and attempting to get back to business as usual, it appears that maybe the country jumped the gun. At least, for now.
According to Deadline, it appears that the theaters that recently reopened in China have now been ordered by the government to close their doors once again. While the country has seen only one new locally-transmitted COVID-19 (coronavirus) case in the last few days, apparently there have been dozens of more cases that have come from people coming into the country from outside areas. In response, China has shut down its borders to foreign travelers and has once again shut down the cinemas that just reopened about a week ago.
READ MORE: China To Re-Release ‘Avatar’ & ‘Avengers’ Films To Help Lure Customers Back To Cinemas
As mentioned in other reports, it’s not as if China had reopened all of its 70,000 screens in the country. In fact, approximately 500 or so were actually open over the past week, as the country only allowed smaller businesses to reopen in the more rural areas. But even still, after thousands of Chinese folks have passed away due to the illness, the country isn’t willing to take any chances with a possible new outbreak.
READ MORE: More Than 500 Theaters Reopen In China After Being Closed For Nearly Two Months
Over the past couple of weeks, reports of the China Film Group’s plan for reopening cinemas began to take shape. What was happening is that the country would slowly open the local theaters at lower capacities and show older films in an attempt to get people back to the cinema, while also making sure that the businesses could recoup 100% of the revenue. And once everything seemed to be closer to how it was before, then the country would begin to show the films that have been waiting to be released since January 23, when China first shuttered its cinemas.
Now, it appears that plan is put back on hold for the time being. It’s unclear how long this new closing will last.