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As COVID-19 Hits Hollywood Productions, Actors Union And Industry Groups Recommend Temporary Production Hold

   DailyWire.com
GREY'S ANATOMY "These Arms of Mine" - A documentary film crew visits the hospital six months after the shooting to document the road to recovery for doctors and patients.
Photo by Eric McCandless/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

The actors union SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild of America (PGA), and a bargaining group representing advertisers agreed on Sunday to recommend “a temporary hold on in-person production in Southern California.”

The move comes as local hospitals remain overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients and anticipate that another post-holiday wave of infections will hit soon. The Los Angeles Department of Public Health had previously emailed show biz insiders on Christmas Eve requesting they “strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases.”

Still, current stay-at-home rules consider the entertainment industry as an essential business.

“Southern California hospitals are facing a crisis the likes of which we have never seen before,” said SAG-AFTRA President Gabrielle Carteris, perhaps best known for her role as Andrea Zuckerman on the 1990s hit Beverly Hills 90210. “Patients are dying in ambulances waiting for treatment because hospital emergency rooms are overwhelmed. This is not a safe environment for in-person production right now.”

Along with the Joint Policy Committee (JPC), SAG-AFTRA and the PGA issued a joint statement on Sunday calling for the production delay, noting that major studios and streamers in the area are already on hiatus until mid-January.

“Commercial producers are strongly encouraged to reschedule their Southern California-area productions to a later date when the hospital capacity crisis has eased,” said Stacy Marcus, Chief Negotiator for the JPC. “It is simply too great a risk to performers, crew and industry personnel to continue production knowing that hospitals are in crisis mode and the number of cases continue to rise.”

SAG-AFTRA officials urge members in Greater Los Angeles to stay home and turn down any on-set gigs for the next several weeks. Those who are required to work have been asked to alert the labor union of any safety concerns.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

There have been clusters of coronavirus infections identified recently among workers at three Warner Bros. productions in Burbank – “Lucifer,” “The Kominsky Method” and “Young Sheldon.” In total, 35 people have tested positive as part of those infections.

An additional 45 coronavirus cases have been identified at the CBS Studio Center in Studio City, according to the county data. Twenty-three cases have been identified among workers at NBC Universal in Studio City and Universal City, including on the production of the show “Mr. Mayor.” There have been nine coronavirus cases among staff at Netflix Productions’ office in Gardena. …

CBS Studios, Universal Television, ABC Signature, 20th Television, Warner Bros. Television and Sony Pictures Television have delayed production on a number of TV shows.

In September, movie studios and labor unions agreed to implement coronavirus protocols for productions that included mandatory testing, personal protective equipment, and quarantine pay. Statewide orders forced film and TV production to shut down from March 20 until mid-June. FilmLA, the nonprofit that coordinates permits for several jurisdictions throughout Greater L.A., told CBS News it received more than 3,550 applications from June to November.

A shortage of ICU beds in the Southern California region triggered a stay-at-home order in early December that was extended for last week. The most recent data shows ICU capacity remains at 0%.  The Los Angeles Times recently reported, “the dreaded post-Christmas spike in coronavirus cases appears to be materializing in Los Angeles County.”

“It is too hard to say right now when the situation may improve,” said SAG-AFTRA National Executive Director David White. “We are monitoring closely and will make sure that our members have the information they need to make the best decisions they can to protect themselves and our community.”

Related: Los Angeles Surge Hospital That Treated COVID-19 Patients Now Appears To Be Site Of Full-Scale Hollywood Production

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