Toronto Film Festival 2020: Attendees fear it could act as 'coronavirus superspreader'

The Toronto Film Festival that is currently going on is getting a flak for its relaxed approach while the world is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. While the Venice Film Festival and major US cinema chains that are currently operational have made wearing masks inside the premises mandatory, TIFF has reportedly not mandated the same.

TIFF is currently offering both in-person and virtual screenings and has adopted a more relaxed stance that has made masks mandatory in only TIFF Bell Lightbox venue but not "when seated in-cinema."

Refuting this, the TIFF organisers said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter that they are strictly following the advise of public health experts, which limits the Bell Lightbox venue to 50 socially distanced patrons per screen, among other safety precautions.

Infectious disease experts warn that beyond TIFF screenings, the social nature of the fest could increase the risks of COVID-19 transmission. "The reason people want to go is for interaction. [So] you have tension already," says Thomas Tenkate, associate professor of occupational and public health at Ryerson University in Toronto.

Among many who feel that the film festival could act as a “super spreader” because of the laid-back approach, Canadian actress Ramona Pringle, a TIFF regular who is also director of Ryerson University’s Transmedia Zone, said, "Unfortunately, I fear we’ve tumbled into this situation where you could have one of those superspreader events because people are in a confined space, which very likely could be a movie theater."