With most theaters closed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, China’s box office has been dismal since the Lunar New Year. Some cinemas have even resorted to selling snacks and memorabilia online to make up for it. Now it looks like Beijing cinephiles can finally visit the theater again… but only if they’re willing to submit a string of personal information.
Under new guidelines jointly published by Beijing’s film and disease control authorities, cinemas in China’s capital can resume business if they follow strict hygiene procedures. That includes having at least one empty seat and row between viewers and disinfecting theaters after each showing. But more than that, they’re also required to record each moviegoer’s real name, home address and national ID number, among other data.
The stringent measures are part of China’s effort to track citizens’ whereabouts amid the Covid-19 epidemic. A government platform, for instance, pulls in data from health, railway and aviation authorities to track if anyone might have been in contact with confirmed or suspected patients.