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Thanks, but no thanks, San Francisco Mayor London Breed.
While San Francisco County gave the go-ahead for movie theaters to reopen today, members of the National Association of Theatre Owners of California/Nevada have unanimously agreed to remain closed in the City by the Bay.
Why? San Francisco current ban on movie concessions “makes it economically impossible for our members to reopen and significantly limits the moviegoing experience for our audiences,” said NATO CA/NV in a release today.
“NATO of CA/NV respectfully asks that San Francisco city officials follow the state’s and other counties’ guidelines in their approach to reopening theatres, while also remaining consistent with how they’re allowing other businesses to reopen,” reads the release.
“While we respect and thank Mayor Breed for her decision to allow movie theatres to reopen, the restrictions in place present an insurmountable financial challenge for our members to do so and are preventing thousands of workers from returning to work,” said Milton Moritz, President and CEO of NATO of CA/NV. “Our members have taken the steps to meet or exceed expert-backed health and safety measures, and we ask that the city reconsider its reopening plan so our theatres can, once again, serve our San Francisco community.”
Moritz cites that theaters in the city have voluntarily committed to health and safety protocols and guidelines developed by leading epidemiologists to address COVID-19, i.e. the wearing of masks at all-times, social distancing, reduced capacity, air filtration and mobile ticketing.
San Francisco is currently in California’s orange tier which means movie theaters can re-open at a 50% capacity or up to 200 people. To date, 40 counties in California in addition to others around the country have reopened theatres per state guidelines with full concession sales. San Francisco has allowed indoor dining to resume, which means the city approves the consumption of food and beverages indoors. Go figure.