www.thewrap.com: After weeks of talks, Hollywood’s studios and unions have agreed to another extension of the Return to Work Agreement, the set of COVID-19 safety protocols that have governed all film and television productions since September 2020. The extension will now last through January 31, 2023.
8 comments:
1. The pandemic has really opened my eyes to the importance of public health messaging throughout the year. I think it is great that workplaces have to adopt these protocols whenever transmission of COVID is higher. I find it unlikely, but I am hopeful that this will extend to other transmissible diseases. I have been incredibly sick this week, and have come to find out that in my hometown, where I caught it, there has been a high level of RSV. I had tested negative for everything; influenza a, influenza b, covid, strep, ect… I only found out about RSV because my step mom works at the local medical research university and she received a memo about it. I think all workplaces and schools would benefit from messaging like that. We have shown how the model is helpful with COVID, hopefully we can take it more seriously with everything else as well. Kind of like how in elementary school we’d be sent home with those letters about a lice outbreak.
The continued need for testing on film sets has not gone away with everyone's desire for covid to go away. Unfortunately it is still a very real thing. The current availability of covid vaccinations and boosters is an amazing thing and a good way of assuring the best possible safety for everyone, but the relaxing of protocols is still something to be weary of. I worked on a film set over the summer that did not require a covid vaccination to work. I thought that was really interesting and I was always interested in how the protocols differed on a non vax required set verses a vax required set. It seemed that every time they relaxed the mandates due to "low risk" we were back in "high risk" within the next two weeks. This left everyone super confused by all of the constant changing. It makes me want to read the new regulations very closely and see how they differ from what I worked under. I hope that they will make it easier for everyone to keep each other safe and to make it less confusing for everyone involved.
I think this is a great decision and will help in keeping the crew and staff who are working in shows safe. While personally I did not experience what getting Covid feels like, many of my close friends who have experience the Covid recovering process have told me that it has significantly influence their ability in finishing and achieving their academic goals. In addition, many of them also feel apologetic and sorry in bringing the virus to a close community where many students live with their elderly family members. Getting Covid does not impact individual physical health condition but also their mental health. While I can see and understand in how many would think this process is unnecessary and uses part of the budget that could be possibly used in other parts, I think that this decision is important and will indeed help many families who have members that are involved in productions.
As others have said, it's a smart decision. Hollywood has been taking COVID seriously for all the wrong reasons (delays mean financial loss) but those reasons still benefit the overall safety and well-being of the talent and crew. I do wonder what these "less stringent" protocols entail, though. The article mentions less frequent testing (my guess would be once a week testing rather than daily), but is masking also still a requirement in those areas? I wonder if masking will be a "suggestion" rather than a "requirement", especially after January (assuming safety protocols are suspended then).
I wonder if this also means that COVID safety officers won't be hired on a daily basis in these "low risk" filming locations.
Especially after the COVD boom last winter, I think the decision to keep the safety protocols in place is so necessary to protect all of the people working. Although, I do have concerns that they are actually being followed. There have been multiple articles on here about how many people working as covid compliance officers are being pressured to lie about positive test results or not accurately reporting cases so as to not get the production shut down. It’s so frustrating because it’s clear that production companies care more about the money when dealing with a project rather than the safety of the actors and crew. No project is worth someone’s life and it’s important to keep reminding people that sadly covid isn’t going away anytime soon. I would be curious to learn more about the impact the union has on protecting the staff. Hopefully this isn’t some fake front to “prove that they care”.
After seeing so many places of work eliminate all covid safety regulations, it’s nice to see that this is still present in the film industry. Granted, a shutdown in the arts where schedules are critical and adjusting timelines are expensive, it may also be an economic consideration for the producers involved. I didn’t even realize that during last year’s winter covid outbreak, the film industry chose to take a break from working. I also like that areas with lower rates and risk have lower amounts of regulation. However, I do wonder how that transition would work for people who are used to working with less strict of rules. It could be somewhat of a start transition, but if it’s just a matter of adding a few more testing days, I don’t see why it should pose much of an issue. It’s also great to see the various unions coming to an agreement on this.
It’s interesting that they are extending Covid Safety protocols through January 2023, when so many places have already gotten rid of them. I think it’s a good thing that they are continuing to enforce them. I also like that while they have made some of the protocols laxer when there is a low transmission rate in an area. The thing I like the most is that they have set actual ground rules for when protocols need to revert to being stricter. The fact that it is well defined (14 people per capita) is also extremely important and helps prevent confusion and people trying to skirt the rules. Without doing any research on my own, I am curious as to what happens if a company violates the protocols. Is it a fine, or something else? I hope the extension and changes to the protocols work and am curious to see if it gets extended again.
I think it is great to see that Hollywood is taking a initiative to slower the rate in which covid is spread. Covid is very much still in existence and it is important that those working in high risk areas like that of film and theater are protected at all cost. In order to ensure they as well as those that they are around are not going to suffer by the hands of covid. It is great to see that they are acknowledging the increase in transmission rates especially over the winter, thus by recognizing it early on they can extend the covid safety protocols and attempt to slower these rates. It makes me happy to see that the performance industry is still recognizing covid impact on society and the role in which they play in the spread of Covid 19. It depicts that they truly acknowledge covid impact on our life.
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