Hollywood will shut down production for several weeks, likely until the middle of January at the earliest, as the coronavirus’ continued spread in California leads to widespread restrictions on businesses.
The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’ leaders, Gabrielle Carteris and David White, wrote a letter to members on Tuesday informing its members of the plan to put productions on “hiatus” for the time being.
“Most entertainment productions will remain on hiatus until the second or third week of January if not later,” they wrote. “This means that the number of our member performers working on sets right now is reduced. Our safety protocols ensure appropriate precautions for the holiday hiatus period including additional time for testing prior to the resumption of production.”
Last week, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health asked the film industry to put a hold on productions, as coronavirus case numbers in the area continue to rise.
“Although music, TV and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases,” the department wrote to members of the industry, according to Mediaite. “Identify and delay higher risk activities, and focus on lower-risk work for now, if at all possible.”
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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