by Thinus Ferreira
Nu Metro in South Africa has decided to keep all of its cinema theatres across the country open.
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday declared a national state of disaster over the rapid spread of the Covid-19 novel coronavirus in South Africa and announced several measures to try and contain the spread, including a ban on gatherings of 100 people or more.
South Africa's TV, film and events industry is bracing for the impact and huge losses over the shutdown, cancellation and postponement of events with the 14th South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) that announced on Monday that it's calling off its end of March awards ceremony and with the SABC and others set to announce further TV and film biz cancellations soon.
On Monday Ster-Kinekor didn't respond to a media enquiry asking whether the movie theatres of its cinema chain will shutter or remain open but Nu Metro said its cinemas will remain open for the time being.
"Nu Metro Cinemas will continue trading and are adhering to stringent health and safety cleaning protocols - which have also been enhanced for high-touch point areas such as kiosks, self-service terminals, serving counters, door handles, rails and bathroom areas," says Andries Basson, Nu Metro Cinemas national operations executive.
"Staff have also been trained on all the preparatory and preventative hygiene measures required to limit the spread of infection. We also encourage our customers to follow the guidelines laid down by the South African government and the World Health Organisation."
Andries Basson says "Our commitment and responsibility towards customers have never been stronger as we face the Covid-19 pandemic together".
"Their safety as well as the safety of our staff in cinemas are our highest priority. Our actions demonstrate a firm commitment to deploying appropriate resources to help maintain a healthy environment for our customers and team members."
"We will continue to monitor the situation, with the possibility of further measures to be announced and implemented at a later stage."
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Sker-Kinekor cinemas will remain open for now as the Covid-19 virus spreads in South Africa.
