Israeli movie theater chain Cinema City is partnering with Tadiran to take important steps to creating cleaner, safer air as the country emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
Movie theaters closed because of COVID-19 and began to reopen on May 27. The original plan was to admit those who have been vaccinated and have a green passport, and limit entry to those who have not been vaccinated. The new air purification system could change that.
A breakthrough trial found that the "Air Care 02" technology purifies about 90% of air pollutants. A 99% reduction in the concentration of bacteria, fungi and viruses was found in a controlled laboratory test. Tadiran began expanding into air treatment and purification in May 2020 and plans to introduce more air purification solutions like this one. A previous version of Tadiran's purifier was found to have killed virtually all germs and bacteria to a rate of 99.999%.The Air Care 02 results were praised by Prof. Ariel Kushmaro, head of the Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev."These are significant results, with the treatment causing a strong reduction in the concentration of mold, viruses and bacteria in the air in indoor spaces, including cinema theaters," he said in a statement. "In controlled laboratory conditions, a reduction in the concentration of bacteria, fungi and viruses of about 99% was demonstrated - a promising statistic by any measure." This new system is being installed in all 100 Cinema City locations throughout the country and will allow children to visit movie theaters as the school year ends and summer vacation begins. While 12-15-year-old children are now able to be vaccinated, for a potential of another 600,000 more people to receive jabs, those aged under 12 are not yet approved for the vaccine.
"After four years of development, Air Care 02 technology becomes the first in the world for movie theaters and will ensure the cleanliness of the air breathed by hundreds of thousands of people in cinema audiences," Tadiran CEO Moshe Mamrud said."This is a new standard that consumers must demand for our health and the health of our children. The air that we breathe influences our day to day functioning and so it is important for us to ensure that we spread the message about this, in the field of air treatment."
Cinema City CEO Avi Edery explained, "Children are the audience that I like best in the cinema. You immediately see on their faces the pleasure and excitement from the movies. So we have taken responsibility beyond the required and chose to take care that the children coming to the cinema will receive the cleanest air in our theaters, while also reducing their ability to transmit infectious viruses to the rest of the audience" Tadiran is not the only Israeli company developing air purification systems amid the pandemic. Aura Air has also proven to be 99.999% effective in eliminating COVID-19 particles and other pathogens. The company installed purifiers on 400 buses in the UK and Ireland, and have helped revived the karaoke industry in Japan.
Hannah Brown, Maya Margit, and Rossella Tercatin contributed to this report.