LA County Officials Ask Hollywood To Pause Production Due To COVID-19 Crisis
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Los Angeles County public health officials are asking the film and television industry to voluntarily pause production because of the surge of coronavirus cases.
FilmLA, the nonprofit group which serves as the official film office for both the city and county of L.A., reported Monday that public health officials have reached out to the film industry asking them to temporarily halt production.
FilmLA has been allowed to continue issuing permits for film, scripted television, unscripted television, commercial and music video shoots despite the regional stay-at-home order.
The L.A. County Department of Public Health sent an email on Christmas Eve to several people in the film industry asking them "to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in COVID cases. Identify and delay higher risk activities, and focus on lower-risk work for now, if at all possible."
Hollywood has been reeling from the effects of the pandemic, including the shuttering of movie theaters worldwide.
Statewide film and TV production was ordered to shutter on March 20 and was not allowed to resume until mid-June.
From June to November, FilmLA received over 3,550 film permit applications.
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Hollywood productions are operating with strict coronavirus protocols, including mandatory testing schedules and personal protective equipment guidelines. There is also a zone system designed to keep different groups working on a production set separate in an effort to mitigate the potential spread of the virus should a crewmember test positive.
