BY DAVID SINGLETON
The state may rain on the Circle Drive-In Theatre’s coming out party.
Drive-in theaters do not fall into the category of life-sustaining businesses, Gov. Tom Wolf’s office said Thursday, casting doubt whether the popular Dickson City attraction will be able to reopen tonight as planned.
Efforts to reach Circle Drive-In President Joseph Calabro or General Manager Dave Castelli were unsuccessful.
The drive-in on Business Route 6 announced earlier this week that it would resume operations this evening with a series of strict protocols in place to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19 among patrons and staff.
The drive-in’s management timed the reopening to coincide with Wolf’s loosening of restrictions on certain outdoor recreational activities that are taking effect statewide today.
Although drive-in theaters were not mentioned in Wolf’s order, spokeswoman Dominique Lockett told The Times-Tribune in an email Wednesday that drive-in theaters were considered life-sustaining businesses.
However, in a follow-up email Thursday, Lockett said the statement was issued in error.
She said drive-ins fall into the “Motion Picture and Video Industries” category as a non-life-sustaining business. That would make them subject to the order closing all non-life-sustaining businesses that Wolf issued in March and that remains in effect.
“The state police has taken lead on issuing warnings and citations to any business that has violated the governor’s orders,” Lockett said.
Under the guidelines the Circle announced for its reopening, patrons will be required to view the movie from inside their vehicles. Anyone leaving a vehicle must wear a mask and practice social distancing.
The restrooms will be open, but only one person will be allowed in at a time and attendants will sanitize the restrooms after each use.
The concession stands will stay closed.
Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132
