Hollywood COVID protocols extended into autumn
Against a backdrop of rising COVID cases here in the UK and overseas, the Film & TV industry are reviewing and increasing their COVID protection measures, with Hollywood sets extending COVID measures into the autumn.
The Return to Work agreement between the Directors Guild of America, the AMPTP, SAG-AFTRA, IATSE and other industry stakeholders was originally expected to expire in June. Having been postponed once until July 15th, the coalition of industry bodies have delayed once more until the end of September.
The agreement, established in September 2020, dictates how TV & Film production sets should manage COVID to mitigate risk. The measures set out include zoning, regularly testing, vaccinations, restrictions on food handling on set, and designated COVID compliance supervisors.
COVID protocols in Hollywood were relaxed when case numbers started to fall in May 2022, but the new variants of Omicron have sent cases soaring to their highest point since January, causing the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers to tighten things up again in accordance with the Return to Work agreement, which states that restrictions should be re-implemented when the number of people admitted to hospital rises above eight per 100,000 residents for seven consecutive days.
The early summer saw the county’s hospitalisation rate increase by 88% in a month, and health officials admit it's probable that infections are even higher as most residents are using home test kits and don’t report their results. According to Los Angeles County's department of public health in the week of the 11th July, the level had reached 10.5 per 100,000 residents, crossing the 10 per 100,000 threshold and pushing the community into the "high" COVID activity band. Reintroducing restrictions is essential to protect the films and TV programmes in production and allow filming to continue.
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