The National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) has been on the forefront of trying to ensure the theatrical experience survives the pandemic and the reopening that is set to begin in many places today. And while the organization has been trying to put forth the narrative that everything will bounce back and people are desperate to return to the cinema, NATO knows that people need reassurance that their safety is a top priority.
READ MORE: IMAX CEO Downplays Streaming Future: “100 Years Of History Doesn’t Change In 5 Months”
So, at a recent press conference (via THR), NATO released a new set of safety protocols that the organization hopes that most theaters will sign off on. Without going into detail, the protocols are basically a version of the rules that most chains have released in recent weeks and includes heavy sanitation, mask-wearing, and social distancing, among other procedures.
The head of NATO, John Fithian, said that the desire to release these protocols and get exhibitors to sign on is to offer “consistent, science and experience-based set of health and safety protocols” that will attempt to put customers’ worries at ease. And Fithian was joined by experts, including Joyce Sanchez, an infectious disease specialist and director of the Travel Health Clinic at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, to help assure folks that theaters are going to be as safe as possible when they reopen.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that cinemas will be 100% safe, as COVID is a highly infectious illness that doesn’t care if you’re enjoying Christopher Nolan’s new film and just want to be left alone.
“As far as risk goes, it isn’t risk-free,” said Sanchez. “It is important for the public to understand that but there’s no data that movies have been a source of transmission. Honestly, time will tell, but that is at least some basis for reassurance.”
This idea that theaters haven’t been a hotspot for COVID transmission isn’t a new argument. Just yesterday, we reported that the CEO of IMAX said something similar when trying to encourage folks to go back to the cinema. Obviously, as with anything regarding the pandemic, things look to be one way…until they’re not anymore. And all it would take is one case of mass spread at a screening to really send these theaters back to square one.
It would appear the NATO protocols and the use of health experts is to give theaters a blanket seal of approval that customers can lean on when deciding whether or not to buy a ticket. That being said, the question that seems to be on everyone’s mind is the enforcement of these rules. Unlike other businesses where health and safety measures can be taken seriously and enforced at all times, a movie theater operates differently with customers coming and going at all times and sitting in enclosed areas for long periods of time. And let’s be real, theater chains don’t have the best history of enforcing policies during screenings.
But hey, at least NATO is trying to do something about that and there are at least two health experts that agree.