L.A. County Health Department Asks Film Industry to ‘Strongly Consider Pausing’ Production as COVID-19 Cases Surge

Los Angeles county, which has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, has reached its grimmest milestone yet as officials confirm more than 1 million total cases of Covid-19.

“As of today, 1 in 3 people in Los Angeles County have been infected with the virus,” said Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday.

“This very clearly is the latest surge for the winter holidays and New Year’s.” That was Los Angeles Public Health Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Simon on Friday. “It’s likely to continue over the next week or two. We do expect these numbers continue to be high over the next couple weeks,” he said.

Los Angeles County saw nearly 100,000 new Covid-19 cases in a matter of one week, bringing the region to a total of 906,171 total cases.

San Diego County's top prosecutor is rescinding permission for Los Angeles County's newly elected district attorney to prosecute an alleged cop killer and suspected armed robber after the D.A. refused to bring special charges against the defendant.

“The very high numbers I will report today are, sadly, not a surprise,” said Los Angeles Public Health Chief Science Officer Dr. Paul Simon on Friday.

Health officials are warning that Los Angeles County may soon see up to 1,000 coronavirus deaths per week after revealing that as many as one in five residents who are getting tested are turning up positive "Your bubble is not as safe as you think it is," LA Public Health tweeted on Monday.

Los Angeles County hospitals are so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that EMS workers were told Monday to ration oxygen, according to reports.  The L.A.

James Corden is getting back into his garage and Jimmy Kimmel is staying at home as surging Covid-19 numbers on the west coast continues to impact production.

Los Angeles County ended 2020 breaking Covid-19 records and brought in the new year doing just the same.

The number of daily new Covid-19 cases in Los Angeles County had been falling for two weeks. From an all-time high of 21,411 on December 16, new cases had settled at between 13,000 and 15,000. While deaths remained punishingly high, there was some hope that a plateau in cases meant that transmission of the virus had slowed. Friday’s data may smash that hope.

An unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and deaths in Los Angeles County has prompted numerous TV shows to delay their return to production following the holiday hiatus.

Disney Television Studios has joined other major TV studios in pushing the post-holidays start of production for Los Angeles-based shows amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus infections and Covid-19 deaths in Los Angeles County.

Ellise Shafer administratorIn a message to members on Tuesday, SAG-AFTRA president Gabrielle Carteris and national executive director David White said that many productions will remain on hiatus for the next few weeks as Los Angeles County experiences a continued surge in COVID-19 cases.“We are writing to let you know that we are closely monitoring the recent surge in COVID-19 infections along with the reported lack of intensive care unit (ICU) beds throughout the state of California and

SAG-AFTRA leaders told their members tonight that “most entertainment productions will remain on hiatus until the second or third week of January, if not later.” The update comes the day after the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health urged the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county.

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterA number of CBS Studios productions — including “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “Seal Team,” “Why Women Kill” and “Diary of a Future President” — are extending their holiday hiatus by one week amid the spiking COVID-19 surge in Los Angeles County, Variety has learned.Those productions will resume on Jan. 11.

CBS Studios has pushed several return-to-production dates coming off the current holiday hiatus. The news comes a day after Deadline reported that the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health had urged the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county and hours after the stay-at-home order for Southern California was extended to Jan. 16.

COVID-19 cases.A new message from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said the industry should pause production “for a few weeks”.“Although music, TV and film productions are allowed to operate, we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in Covid cases,” the health department’s message said (via Deadline).

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is urging the film and TV industry to consider pausing production for a few weeks during the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases throughout the county. “Although music, TV and film productions are allowed to operate,” the health department said, “we ask you to strongly consider pausing work for a few weeks during this catastrophic surge in Covid cases.

Scientists in Los Angeles are trying to figure out if the fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus fueling a huge surge in cases in the United Kingdom is behind a similar rise in California. The mutation is up to 70 percent more contagious, but it doesn’t appear to be any more deadly.