After the appeal of Government of Nepal not to organize any meetings, conference, festivals, gathering and any other events having participation of a large number of people, as a precautionary measure to check the possible spread of COVID-19 (Corona), entertainment sector has also been affected amid fear of the COVID-19 spreading.
And movie business is not any exceptional. Though the shows in the theatres are running according to their schedule, there has been decrease in the number of moviegoers in Pokhara.
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According to the owners of movie halls in Pokhara, number of visitors has been decreased due to the fear of COVID-19 spreading. Managing Director of Midtown Galleria, Pokhara, Nikesh Dwa said, “People are scared to visit movie theaters due to the fear of corona spreading.” He added, “As Nepal Government has not mentioned any immediate need to shut down theaters, we are running our shows as usual but we have been using preventing measures.” He stated that movie theaters have sanitizers and disinfectant spray.
Due to the decreasing number of moviegoers, filmmakers have started postponing release date. Speaking about the oddity, Regional Manager of QFX for Pokhara, Rajendra Puri said that, “We have been using sanitizer and disinfectant sprays inside theater premises. We do not need to shut down the theaters as for now, so we are operating theater with extra precautions because visitor’s health is more valuable than our business.” He confirmed that QFX’s business has been decreased by 60 percentages this week.
Before this, Nepal Film Association emphasized on following more precautions where, President of NFA, Madhusudhan Pradhan said, “Shows are running on, as per their schedule, and we had a meeting with authorities who operates cinema halls about precautionary measures to follow in cinema halls. We have adopted several precautionary measures and asked theater owners to make mask mandatory for visitors. And Nepali movies are not making estimated profit, so it won’t be ethical to shut theaters at this time. So theaters will be in operation until government’s next notice.”
