A number of cinemas have expressed their intentions to reopen in July, however, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said that he expects that they won’t be allowed to reopen until August.
Speaking at a press conference earlier today, Leo Varadkar said that he envisages cinemas will be allowed to reopen in August so long as there are proper social distancing measures in place and the spread of Covid-19 remains low.
Originally due to reopen in phase five of the government’s roadmap, there were hopes that the date would be brought forward to July as plans for a fifth phase have since been scrapped. Several well-known cinemas across the country have been rallying for an early reopening, Omniplex and Dublin’s Light House Cinema amongst them along with Cineworld who announced plans to reopen all of its cinemas across the UK in July – including a 17 screen multiplex in Dublin city. However, the Taoiseach’s comments seem to put a dampener on those plans, pushing the date closer to the end of summer as first expected.
It’s not all bad news though as Varadkar later signalled that outdoor cultural events of a few thousand people could be allowed to happen from September, giving hope that outdoor gigs and events could be back on the table very soon.
“We could see some smaller outdoor or mass gatherings in September, maybe outdoor cultural events of a few thousand people – 3,000 or 4,000 or 5,000, but it’s unlikely to be more than that.”
More to follow.
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