US movie theatres AMC, Cinemark, Regal Cinemas withdraw mask mandate for fully vaccinated viewers

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, renowned US movie theatres AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, and Regal Cinemas announced that the fully vaccinated guests no longer need to wear face masks. On their official websites, the movie theatres informed moviegoers who are still not fully vaccinated that they will be asked to continue wearing masks, while other social-distancing norms and cleaning protocols will remain in place. As per the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, masks will be optional for vaccinated customers and will be “strongly encouraged” for others. Non-vaccinated customers can remove masks only when eating and drinking inside the auditorium. “Consistent with the latest CDC guidelines and following consultation with public health experts, AMC Theatres guests who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to wear face coverings at AMC locations, unless it is mandated by state or local ordinances,” AMC said in a statement according to Variety. Meanwhile, sporting a face mask is mandatory for all employees at AMC, Regal, and Cinemark locations. While measures like social distancing, reduced capacity, enhancing cleaning sanitization protocols will be enforced in all cinema chains to help stop the spread of the virus. As per Regal’s website, it reads “vaccinated people no longer need to wear masks or socially distance”. They further notified that state and local guidelines may vary based on local conditions. As per its website, Cinemark updated its mask policy saying “face masks are optional for fully vaccinated guests [except where required by local mandates]”. Last year in June amid the pandemic, many cinema chains, AMC in particular, got into trouble as they began to reopen like normal times.