Cinemark Movies 8 theater reopens in Hanford after Kings County moves into 'red tier'

Saturday, October 17, 2020
Cinemark Movies 8 theater reopens in Hanford
Kings County residents are seeing a return of much-loved entertainment, activities, and businesses now that they moved into the 'red tier' of COVID-19 restrictions.

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- It's lights, camera, action at Cinemark 8 in Hanford as the theater is back open for business.

It reopened to moviegoers on Friday as Kings County is now in the less restrictive 'red tier', which means they can open at a quarter of their capacity.

"We're evolving how we operate so you feel comfortable and confident when you visit one of our theatres," Cinemark CEO Mark Zoradi.

Zoradi says there's several new modifications in place, which include sanitizing high traffic areas every half hour, blocking seats in the auditoriums, and having an assigned chief cleaning monitor to each theater.

However, it's not just theatres that get to reopen their doors.

Shopping centers can open to 50% capacity, and places of worship, like Glad Tidings Assembly of God in Hanford, can bring a limited number of people back inside.

"I really think no matter side of the aisle you're on, the church has been treated unfairly. We are excited, and we wish it happened sooner," says Pastor Kyle Johnson.

Johnson says they've been conducting services outside the last couple of months.

While he's excited to welcome people back, he says pastors face a challenge with the capacity limit.

"At our last outdoor service we had 200 people. Once we open that number is going to skyrocket. What do we tell people?"

The church is planning to wait until all of their precautions are in place to open in an effort to keep people safe.

However, many other businesses are back open as being in the 'red tier' also means fitness centers and museums can also welcome back customers with modifications in place.