China slowly began recovering from the coronavirus outbreak and reopened more than 500 cinemas as the outbreak is seen to be subsiding.
However, the box office sales remain minimal as the public is mostly staying away.
State media CGTN reported that 486 theaters were opened on Friday; financial publication Caixin said Monday that the number had risen to 507.
The figures represent less than 5% of the country’s 70,000 all cinemas in commercial operation prior to the virus outbreak.
The cinemas that were reopened are located in remote and coastal regions where new cases have not been recorded for more than a month.
Plans were unveiled last week for a programme of "tried-and-tested" box office to draws audiences back to cinemas as more are expected to open in the coming weeks.
These include blockbusters such as Wolf Totem, new releases like Green Book, and a rerelease of the first Harry Potter film. All profits will go to cinemas, with distributors and producers waiving their cut.
Wuhan has not registered any new cases of Covid-19 for five consecutive days, where the virus had its epicenter.
It is worth mentioning that, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared coronavirus a global pandemic on March 11 as the new virus has rapidly spread to more than 121,000 people from Asia to the Middle East, Europe, and the United States.
More cases of the virus, which causes respiratory disease Covid-19, continue to emerge, with outbreaks in South Korea, Italy, and Iran.
The data collected so far showed that at least 392,156 people are infected and about 17,138 people have died.
Transmission of viruses between humans happens when someone comes into contact with an infected person’s secretions, such as droplets in a cough. They can also be transmitted by coming into contact with something an infected person has touched and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
It is known that older people appear to be more vulnerable to the effects of the emerging virus.
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