This photo taken on March 25, 2020 shows a staff member spraying disinfectant at a cinema as it prepares to reopen to the public after closing due to the COVID-19, in Shenyang in China's Liaoning province. (PHOTO / AFP)

BEIJING - Chinese movie theaters in low-risk areas have been allowed to resume operation starting from July 20 following an improvement in the COVID-19 epidemic situation, the China Film Administration announced Thursday.

These movie theaters should reopen on the premise that proper prevention and control measures have been put into place, the administration said in a circular, noting that cinemas should suspend their operation once their localities are adjusted to be medium- or high-risk areas.

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Attendance per show must not exceed 30 percent, according to a guideline on the sector's work resumption issued by the Chinese Film Circulation and Projection Association on Thursday.

Cinemas are required to sell non-adjacent tickets in every other row, and moviegoers who are strangers to each other should keep a distance of at least one meter.

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All moviegoers must make real-name reservations and purchase tickets online.

Those who do not wear masks or with a body temperature above 37.3 degrees Celsius will not be admitted into the theaters, the guideline read.