Cinemas safer than supermarkets, other indoors in COVID-19 risk — German study

MANILA, Philippines — A recent study in Germany revealed that cinemas are safer than almost any other indoor environment when it comes to risk of getting COVID-19.

The German study titled “Covid-19 Contagion via Aerosol Particles – A Comparative Evaluation of Indoor Environments” conducted by scientists at the Berlin Institute of Technology said that with proper safety guidelines followed like mask-wearing, physical distancing and proper air ventilation, cinemas with 30% capacity are safer than supermarkets when it comes to COVID-19 risk.

“With a mask (mouth-nose protection/mouth-nose cover) the aerosol emission as well as thequantity of inhaled particles can be reduced. Breathing, speaking, singing, etc. influences the number of exhaled particles. The respiratory activity, e.g. breathing, speaking, singing etc., as well as the physical activity influence the number of exhaled particles and the quantity of inhaled particles by healthy persons. The air supply into the room regulates the number of aerosol particles in the air (concentration) and finally the duration of stay results in a quantity of particles inhaled,” said the study's February 15, 2021 version. 

“A person with mask in a supermarket has a risk with the value <1. This means, that in this situation a maximum of one other person will be infected. In comparison a multi-person office with a 50% reduced occupancy, but without wearing a mask at the workplace, has a value of 8. This means, that the risk in this situation is 8-times higher than in the supermarket. In contrast, a visit to a theater in a meeting place with 30% reduced occupancy and with wearing a mask while sitting is just half as risky as in the supermarket,” it added. 

With cinemas set to reopen in the National Capital Region (NCR) after being shut down for a year and seven months, claimed to be "the world's longest cinema lockdown" by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines (CEAP), CEAP assured the public that moviegoers are in a safe place. 

“We would like to assure the public that cinema is a safe place. In fact, LGUs (local government units) have converted some theaters into vaccination centers, and no super-spreading were ever reported, even though people waited inside for hours,” CEAP President Charmaine Bauzon said. 

The same German research took into account the following factors in its conclusion:

• People spend an average of only two hours at a cinema.
• People inside the cinema simply sit down and face the same direction which is known to reduce transmission risks.
• People are not talking to each other during a movie, which minimizes possibility of infection. — Video from Cinema Exhibitors Association of the Philippines YouTube channel

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