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Singapore cinemas gear up for reopening next week

 There will be a limit to the number of cinema patrons allowed in each hall.
There will be a limit to the number of cinema patrons allowed in each hall.

6 Jul – Cinephiles in Singapore received good news over the weekend, when it was announced by the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) that cinemas island-wide will be allowed to resume operations starting from next week.

Most of the cinemas, which have been closed for more than three months, are now preparing to open from next Monday onwards.

Cathay Cineplexes, WE Cinemas, Golden Village, Shaw Theatres, Filmgarde Cineplexes and Carnival Cinemas posted updates on their respective social media announcing that they will reopen this 13 July.

The Projector is set to reopen on 15 July, as the cinema will be operating only from Wednesday until Sunday and will be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

According to the statement from IMDA, cinemas must adhere to the Mandatory Safe Management Measures (SMM) for Cinemas.

These measures include a "one metre safe distancing" seat configuration in cinema halls. Only friends and family, up to 5 patrons, are allowed to buy tickets to sit together without the one metre distancing requirement. Different groups of patrons must, however, comply with it.

A maximum capacity of 50 patrons are allowed per cinema hall and all patrons must keep their masks on, except when consuming food and drink.

While showtimes for most of the cinemas have yet to be finalised, it is known that one of the first major movies to be screened once cinemas reopen will be "Peninsula", the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2016 zombie action thriller "Train to Busan".

Directed by Yeon Sang-ho, "Train to Busan: Peninsula" starring Kang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun is hitting Singaporean cinemas this 15 July.

Cinemas in Singapore have been temporarily shuttered since 27 March, as part of the government's effort to curb the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.

(Photo source: Buro 24/7)