It’ll be showtime under ‘Unlock 3.0’

It is time for Unlock 3.0 – for unravelling of the curbs imposed on cinema halls, theatres and gyms – possibly from August 1.

The announcement of the fresh guidelines, which the government is working on, will also mark the formal ending of restrictions under 'Unlock 2.0' with only schools and metro/suburban train services remaining under the wraps.

Cine and theatre buffs have been thus far subsisting on a staple diet of Netflix, Amazon, Hotstar and other online entertainment buffets, but which hardly replicate the experience of a multiplex – with its brilliant acoustics and atmospherics.

The movie industry too has been languishing and is only now beginning to come out of the cans by fits and starts.

Officials in Ministry of information and broadcasting told News 18 that opening up of cinema halls has been proposed but the final decision will be that of the MHA. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has just concluded its talks with cinema owners on the partial opening up of theatres with 25% seating capacity.

Theatre owners will, of course, prefer 50% seating, to begin with, which will help them cover some of their overheads, it is pointed out. Also with the calibrated opening of the film industry will come challenges, especially since a movie experience means staying cooped up in a centrally air-conditioned hall for at least three hours. The pandemic guidelines will also entail mandatory social distancing between seats, having longer intervals between shows to sanitise the auditoriums and discouraging takeaways at refreshment counters.

Gyms will require a sanitised environment, where both the equipment and the user will have to be subject to intense rigours of a pandemic era. So, fixed timings, cap on number of users allowed on the premises at a given time and presence of a health warden will be the new normal. In view of the variables

involved, the decision on reopening of the gyms will be left to the wisdom of the state governments. One of the inhibiting factors thus far has been the divided medical opinion on wearing a mask while exercising. Schools and metro, it seems, are the last items on the government’s Covid-19 agenda. More than anyone, the parents are not inclined to send their children to school, until a vaccine hits the market, or the virus curve flattens out and the scare eventually blows over.