Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of India has announced opening of Cinema halls and open-air theaters in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal from Thursday onwards.
Banerjee said: “To return to normalcy, jatras (Bengali folk theater), plays, open-air theaters, cinemas and all musical, dance, recital, and magic shows shall be allowed to function with 50 participants or less from Oct. 1, subject to adherence to physical distancing norms, wearing of masks, and compliance to precautionary protocols.”
This move has angered some politicians in the central government in New Delhi and the re-opening of movie theaters is, therefore, being seen by some as a populist vote-seeking move to please the festive Bengali populace, despite the risk of fueling the spread of Covid-19.
As of Wednesday, the total number of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in West Bengal had reached 253,768 with 4,899 deaths reported, meanwhile, in India, the total of positive cases have reached over 6 million.
Banerjee said: “To return to normalcy, jatras (Bengali folk theater), plays, open-air theaters, cinemas and all musical, dance, recital, and magic shows shall be allowed to function with 50 participants or less from Oct. 1, subject to adherence to physical distancing norms, wearing of masks, and compliance to precautionary protocols.”
This move has angered some politicians in the central government in New Delhi and the re-opening of movie theaters is, therefore, being seen by some as a populist vote-seeking move to please the festive Bengali populace, despite the risk of fueling the spread of Covid-19.
As of Wednesday, the total number of confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in West Bengal had reached 253,768 with 4,899 deaths reported, meanwhile, in India, the total of positive cases have reached over 6 million.
