Hollywood’s major studios and unions have agreed to extend COVID production protocols through the end of January but some of the toughest requirements will ease up in areas that have very low case rates.
“The agreement maintains the multi-faceted approach that has kept the industry working safely since shortly after the onset of the pandemic,” SAG-AFTRA, DGA, IATSE and other unions said in a statement issued Wednesday evening. “The extension maintains core protocols while permitting minor modifications reflecting improved conditions in most areas. In addition, the agreement again grants a bank of six additional sick days reflecting the shorter term of this extension.”
The extension gives employers the option to ease some of the most stringent rules in areas where COVID rates are low. The “strictest protocols” will be triggered for productions in “any metropolitan area or county with 14 or more COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 population.”
Moreover, if the situation worsens, the agreement allows for employers to tighten up again.
“In all cases, the full set of stricter protocols will be reintroduced if there is a COVID-19 surge over the winter,” the unions stated.
Hollywood’s COVID production protocols were first hammered out in the summer and fall of 2020. The industry was battered by the pandemic lockdowns, which abruptly shuttered hundreds of TV shows and films that were in the works or were in pre-production phase.
By and large, the intricate rules spelling out the safety requirements, social distancing, personal protective equipment, testing regimens and eventually, vaccination requirements allowed the industry to get back to work.
