Television, movie and commercial production in the Los Angeles area have gotten the go-ahead to resume, one month after three industry groups recommended it be put on hold due to a surge in COVID-19 cases.
The pause in production came at the request of the L.A. public health department, when hospitals were overwhelmed with patients and daily new cases in the county topped 20,000 several times.
Now, with regional stay-at-home orders lifted and new cases trending down, SAG-AFTRA, the Producers Guild and the Joint Policy Committee — a bargaining group that represents commercial advertisers and advertising agencies — are giving producers the green light.
But the trade groups say they’ll be closely monitoring productions to make sure industry COVID-19 protocols are being followed and that workers are safe on set. Meanwhile, the L.A. public health department came out with new guidelines last week for local film, TV and music productions. Among the changes are requirements for COVID-19 testing for cast and crew members before shooting starts, and at least once a week during production.
—Chery Glaser, KCRW and The California Report