With half-term approaching and the weather getting colder many parents will be planning trips to the cinema for their family.
As people are not allowed to mix with other households, cinemas provide one of the few ways of temporarily escaping from the humdrum of lockdown life and a chance to immerse yourself in another world, if only for a couple of hours.
Fears the North East could be moved to Tier 3 may worry those who had planned a half-term trip to the cinema.
But there is good news for film fans. Even if the North East is moved into Tier 3, cinemas will be allowed to stay open, although they can close if the councils and Government agree they need to be.
Do cinemas have to close in the North East if we are moved into Tier 3 Very High Alert?
If County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland are moved into Tier 3, cinemas will be allowed to remain open under the baseline restriction, but the Government says it may seek to make agreements with councils to shut indoor leisure facilities, which include cinemas.
In Liverpool, which has had the toughest Tier 3 restrictions, cinemas have remained open, even though gyms were initially shut (they're now allowed to reopen).
With North East councils opposing Tier 3, it is unlikely they would seek the extra measure of closing cinemas if Tier 3 is forced on them by the Government.
