Single-screen theatres in Kolkata ordered to shut down indefinitely due to rising COVID-19 cases

Most of the single-screen theatres in Kolkata will shut down for an indefinite period as the city grapples with the second wave of the coronavirus, an industry official said on Thursday. The alarming rise of COVID-19 cases in the last two weeks forced most of the city’s single-screens to take this extreme step for public safety, a member of the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association said. Single-screens such as Navina, Menoka, Jaya, Ajanta and Orient are among the theatres downing their shutters from Friday, he said. Screenings will not be started before the situation turns conducive for the public to enjoy a film at a theatre without the fear of infection, he added. “We have no alternative. We were chugging on despite poor footfall since October last year when the cinema halls reopened after lockdown. The surge in COVID-19 cases is another blow. We cannot afford to be oblivious to the emerging situation,” said Satadeep Saha, the co-owner of Ajanta Cinema and a multiplex chain. West Bengal on Wednesday (21 April) registered its highest single-day spike of 10,784 new COVID-19 cases, which took the tally in the state to 6,88,956, the health department said in a bulletin. The death toll also rose to 10,710 after 58 fresh fatalities were reported. (With inputs from Press Trust of India)