Hollywood COVID Protocols Extended to Feb. 13
The protocols that govern film and TV production in the COVID era have been extended yet again, this time to Feb. 13, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said Monday.
The rules govern vaccine mandates, masking, quarantining, and other measures to suppress the spread of COVID-19. The current version of the protocols have been in place since July, and they allow productions to impose a vaccine mandate — although only for actors and other workers who are on set. Workers who are not in “Zone A” — the set — are not subject to a vaccine mandate.
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The protocols were initially set to expire on Sept. 30, but have been extended repeatedly as COVID case rates remained high. The latest extension, which was reached in late December, pushed the expiration date from Jan. 15 to Feb. 13. Further negotiations are expected to take place in early February, but with cases still near all-time highs, it seems likely that the protocols will be extended again.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported on the latest extension.
The Omicron surge, beginning in December, prompted delays to many productions, according to FilmLA.
The protocols are the result of negotiations between the AMPTP — which represents the major studios — and the major entertainment unions, including SAG-AFTRA, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, and the Directors Guild of America.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health also imposed its own guidelines on film and TV production in 2020, although those rules were allowed to expire last spring, as California “reopened” just ahead of the Delta wave.
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