Covid-19: new voluntary app for cinema visits

ProCinema said it was 'satisfied' with the restart of cinemas after the lockdown but said it was “still far from normal operation” Keystone / Laurent Gillieron

Cinema-goers in Switzerland can now download a free voluntary app, “Mindful Check-In”, which enables anonymous tracking in case they have sat in the theatre with a person who tests positive for Covid-19 or if they themselves develop the disease.

Since being allowed to re-open on June 6, cinemas have been obliged to collect the contact details of visitors. In addition to forms, a registration system and online ticketing, a new app is now available for this purpose, ProCinema, the umbrella organisation of Swiss cinemas and film distributors, announced on Monday.

“Mindful Check-In” can now be installed on smartphones. No registration is required. A QR code must be scanned at the entrance of the cinema or on the cinema screen in order to check in. Finally, the row of seats and the seat number are typed in.

ProCinema guarantees that the data will be collected anonymously and stored only in the smartphone’s log file. Personal data will not be transmitted, it said. After two weeks, the data will be deleted “automatically and completely”.

ProCinema said it was “satisfied” with the restart of cinemas after the lockdown. More than two-thirds of all cinemas in Switzerland have re-opened and 200,000 people have seen a film since June 6. However, this figure is “still far from normal operation”, it said, pointing out that the cinema occupancy rate was low.