County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer announced modifications to the health order her office has issued to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and those changes will be a good thing for the film and television industry because productions can restart in Los Angeles County on Friday if safety protocols are met.
The official order is set to be approved tomorrow and it will go into effect this Friday, June 12. The exact protocols that will need to be implemented will also be announced tomorrow during her daily press conference. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will have to co-sign on this new order for the city of Los Angeles but he has generally followed the county’s lead on coronavirus reopenings so it looks like he will follow their lead here as well.
California Governor Gavin Newsom released guidelines for the state last Friday that would allow film and television productions to resume work. Those guidelines would presumably include procedural protocols such as safe distancing, masks, and proper sanitization. Director Ferrer on Wednesday introduced a graph which she said provided a “clear picture” that the seven day rolling average of COVID-related deaths in the county trending down, both for the region as a whole and at skilled nursing facilities. The seven day rolling average of deaths is a key measure of readiness to reopen further. Governor Newsom has said that the final decision as to whether to open specific sectors was left to local officials. L.A. County on Wednesday made the decision to proceed on film and TV productions as well as gyms, day camps, museums, zoos, campgrounds, pro sports arenas (without live audiences), and hotels.
