Reopening of cinemas in corona times

Cinemas are among the companies that suffer most from the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic. With the global loosening comes the reopening of cinemas under corona conditions is also back in play. As in other industries, the return to "normality" is associated with health and safety measures such as social distancing, healthy hygiene practices and increased cleaning, disinfection and ventilation.

Checklists can help with reopening by working through all preparatory measures step by step through checklist items. In this way, no point is forgotten, and problems during implementation are identified immediately. But checklists do not only help with the cinema reopening. During ongoing operations during the corona pandemic, audit checklists can be used to regularly check compliance with hygiene and safety measures.

This article informs about the following topics:

1. The realization of the reopening of a cinema

2. Hygiene and safety trends in the cinema industry

3. Digital checklists for the reopening of cinemas

That's what cinemas have to take into account when reopening

The reopening of cinemas during the pandemic brings new risks and challenges. A major concern is that the virus could spread again among cinema-goers after the opening. This is not only bad for health but also for business.

The state health authorities and local industry associations have therefore published guidelines to help cinema operators and their staff to implement hygiene and safety measures to protect staff and visitors from infection during their visit to the cinema. Cinema operators can use the following general guidelines as guidance for their safety initiative against COVID-19:

1. Promote safe hygiene practices



Every employee should be encouraged to carry out all necessary hygiene practices during working hours and also during leisure time. This includes thorough hand hygiene as well as the wearing of face masks.



2. Strengthen cleaning, disinfection and ventilation



Cleaning and disinfection is an essential part of reopening public spaces such as cinemas, as it reduces the risk of exposure to COVID-19. Routine cleaning of surfaces with detergents and water should continue and be extended to include disinfection with disinfectants. Besides, the cleaning intervals should be increased, especially for contact-intensive surfaces.



3. Implement social distancing



During and after working hours, the social distance between workers of at least 2 metres should be maintained. Social distance in the workplace also includes the enforcement of physical barriers, changes in working areas, closing or restricting access to common areas and adjustments to working and break times.



4. Train employees sufficiently



Hygiene and safety measures only work if they are clearly understood by those involved. Employers are obliged to provide sufficient training to employees in health and safety protocols against COVID-19. Employees should be trained in infection prevention and receive specific guidance on their work tasks.



5. Monitor measures



For operation during the corona pandemic, all cinemas must develop regular monitoring procedures to check the effectiveness of measures on the one hand and to check the health status of employees for signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection on the other. It has also proved effective in other industries to assign an employee to monitor whether health and safety protocols are followed.

Hygiene and safety trends in the cinema industry

After their reopening, cinemas belong to an industry that has to adapt most to "new normality", which also has a strong impact on business. The previous "normal operation" has to be adapted to the necessary COVID-19 requirements; changes in daily operations are bound to occur. The following are health and safety measures that every cinema should implement when reopening:

1. Limit capacity and presentation times



When the cinema is ready to reopen, additional hygiene and safety measures must be implemented by the authorities to prevent it from closing again soon. These include limiting the number of people in the cinema to between 25% and 50% of the audience for each screening (the number varies depending on the location and local agreements). The strict limitation of capacity and screening time gives staff sufficient time to clean and disinfect everything.



2. Change seating arrangements



In compliance with the guidelines for social distance a staggered seating arrangement is introduced. This can be implemented by empty rows and empty seats.



3. Romote online booking and payment options



An online booking system promotes a low contact environment, which limits the interaction between employees and customers. It also provides an option for teleworking for employees.



4. Provide masks for employees and customers



The reopening of a cinema attracts people from different households and places. It is therefore recommended to limit the spread of the virus by wearing a face mask so that cinema-goers who are infected do not infect others.



5. Clean and disinfect surfaces with high contact density frequently



Frequently touched surfaces in the cinema such as door handles, tables, worktops, toilets, taps, washbasins and even the seats inside the cinema should be cleaned and disinfected daily. This will reduce the spread of the virus.



6. Check guests for symptoms on admission



Employees and customers should be checked before entering the premises. It is recommended that symptoms be checked and a temperature check be performed. Although the virus is asymptomatic, performing temperature controls can reduce the risk of admitting infected visitors.

Use digital checklists for the reopening of the cinema

No one knows how long it will take until the corona infection is contained. This makes it all the more important for heavily affected industries such as cinemas to implement the hygiene and protective measures to contain the virus. However, regular inspections and audits are time-consuming and labour-intensive.

Digital solutions, such as those from Lumiform, can make the work easier in this case. All inspections and audits can be easily performed with the mobile app using a smartphone or tablet, regardless of location - online or offline. All data is immediately available to the entire hygiene team. In this way, problems are immediately detected and corrected, which significantly increases safety.

Further advantages of digital checklists for the reopening of cinemas in the corona pandemic:

• Save time by simplifying the analysis of all data and identifying areas that need special attention more quickly.


• Reports are created automatically - this saves all the follow-up work.


• Collect real-time data for all audits. This makes security measurable, and the data can be used to optimize processes continuously.


• Improve the efficiency of internal processes: Better communication within the team, with third parties and with management, and faster incident reporting means that incidents are resolved up to 4 times faster than before.


• Continuous increase in safety: Through the flexible checklist construction kit hazard analyses can be continuously optimized. Since Lumiform guides the examiner through the exam, no training is required.

To make it easier for cinema operators to reopen their cinemas, we have compiled some checklists with which the new requirements can be implemented step by step and checked again and again. All templates can be easily adapted to internal company requirements and regional guidelines of state authorities.