New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced on Monday that movie theaters in New York City will be permitted to reopen at 25 percent capacity next month in light of falling coronavirus numbers.
Movie theaters will reopen at 25 percent capacity, with no more than 50 people per screening room, on March 5. Assigned seating, masks and social distancing will be required, along with air filtration and purification standards. Coronavirus testing will not be required for entry, according to The New York Times.
The Times noted that these requirements are the same ones that were put in place for the rest of New York state in October of last year.
This reopening will take place about a year after movie theaters were closed down in March of last year, near the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.
The closure of movie theaters has been destructive for the film industry, with many major projects either indefinitely postponed or released on streaming platforms.
New York ran a pilot program for live events in January in which it allowed 6,700 fans to attend a Buffalo Bills home game. COVID-19 testing was required, and contact tracing was practiced afterward. The apparent success of this game led to New York partially reopening restaurants in February as well as arenas and venues.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases in both New York state and New York City have been falling after peaking in January during a winter surge of cases. The U.S. reported fewer than 100,000 new coronavirus cases in a day for the first time in February.