Covid-19 Surge: After Delhi, Haryana Closes Cinema Halls In 5 Districts Including Gurugram

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in Haryana, authorities on Saturday ordered the closure of cinema halls, multiplexes, and sports complexes in five districts, including Gurugram and Faridabad, from January 2 to 12, according to an official order.

The other three districts where the restrictions will be applicable are Ambala, Panchkula, and Sonipat. This comes on a day when a night curfew from 11 pm to 5 am came into force in the state.

All cinema halls, theatres, multiplexes shall remain closed in Gurugram, Faridabad, Ambala, Panchkula and Sonipat from January 2 to January 12, an order issued by the Haryana State Disaster Management Authority said.

Haryana reported 552 fresh Covid cases on Saturday. Gurugram district alone accounted for 298 of these cases, according to a health department bulletin.

Gurugram, which falls under the National Capital Region, has been witnessing a surge in coronavirus cases for over a week now. Faridabad reported 107 fresh cases, Ambala 32 and Panchkula 26, the bulletin stated. Earlier, the Delhi government decided to shut its cinema halls amid the rise in Covid-19 cases.

As of Friday, Haryana had 63 cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to official data. The closure of theatres in Delhi has led to the postponement of two big films. Director SS Rajamouli’s much-awaited period action film RRR (Rise Roar Revolt) was postponed on Saturday amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases in the country and concerns over the new Omicron variant.

The film, starring South stars Ram Charan and N T Rama Rao Jr, was scheduled to arrive in cinemas on January 7. Produced by DVV Entertainments, the news of RRR being delayed comes just six days ahead of its release in theatres. The decision to defer the release date was announced on the official Twitter account of “RRR” film.

“Keeping the best interests of all the involved parties in mind, we are forced to postpone our film. Our sincere thanks to all the fans and audience for their unconditional love #RRRPostponed #RRRMovie," the tweet read.

RRR is the second movie to be delayed due to the rise in the COVID-19 cases across the country. Earlier, Shahid Kapoor-starrer ‘Jersey’ was pulled from its scheduled release date of December 31.

(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)