BEIJING • There is good news for movie fans in Beijing - cinemas and film studios are allowed to resume operation under certain conditions.

Movie theatres must obtain permission from the relevant departments and report to the Beijing Film Bureau before resuming work, according to a guideline on work resumption of the entertainment industry issued by the bureau on Thursday.

They must also draft a plan on epidemic control and prevention, it added.

The notice said cinemas are required to sell non-adjacent tickets in every other row in the early stage of reopening to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Customers should have their particulars recorded at the ticket office before entry.

Lavatories should be equipped with hand sanitisers or disinfectants. Disinfection should be conducted after each screening and at least eight times a day in public areas, according to the guideline.

Film studios are allowed to resume filming in Beijing if the number of cast and crew members is fewer than 50 and they have no suspected symptoms of the coronavirus, the guideline said. They should wear face masks at all times except during shooting.

Theatres across China have remained shut since Chinese New Year's Eve on Jan 24, a day after the Chinese city of Wuhan was locked down to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Films scheduled to open during the Chinese New Year holidays - including action flicks The Rescue and Vanguard, animated feature Jiang Ziya: Legend Of Deification and thriller-action-comedy Detective Chinatown 3 - were held over.

Meanwhile, in South Korea, the country's largest cinema chain CJ CGV has temporarily shut its nine cinemas in the Daegu area from yesterday due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city.

The film industry in South Korea has been affected by the outbreak as people are staying away from cinemas and scheduled movie releases have been put on hold.

XINHUA, THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK