Chief Executive Officer of Cinema One Limited, Ingrid Jahra says her industry is happy that there’s now a concrete way forward to treat staff who have a legitimate reason not to be vaccinated.
On Saturday, Government announced that unvaccinated staff at Safe Zones could apply for a medical exemption or deferral certificate from a public medical officer along with a mandatory PCR test every two weeks.
Miss Jahra says it’s almost five months since the industry has been closed and she’s happy to see a way forward.
However, she says they will not be able to bear the cost of PCR tests for employees and believes unvaccinated employees would have to decide whether to foot the cost or find employment in an industry where they can co-exist with vaccinated individuals.
Miss Jahra does foresee some challenges to verify vaccinations cards on entry but is hoping Government’s digital verification system would be rolled out soon to allow for a free flow.
The Cinema One CEO expects to have a steady welcoming of customers on October 11th, saying there is strong movie content to reopen its doors at 50% capacity.