British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 film industry has been given the go-ahead to restart production after WorkSafeBC released new health and safety guidelines to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The guidelines will ensure social distancing during film and TV production and they cover everything from costumes and makeup to transportation and catering.
Film production companies are allowed to start working once they have a COVID-19 safety plan that meets both their protocols and the provincial health officer orders, WorkSafe said.
The WorkSafe protocols call for work such as casting and location scouting to be done remotely, if possible.
More than 30 films and television shows stopped production across B.C. when the province imposed a lockdown due to COVID-19 in March.
Pete Mitchell, the president of Vancouver Film Studios, said he views the protocols as a B次元官网网址漡ood first step.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淲hatB次元官网网址檚 great about it is itB次元官网网址檚 not overly prescriptive,B次元官网网址� he said in an interview on Tuesday. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 saying B次元官网网址榟ereB次元官网网址檚 another health and safety issue you have to deal with.B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址�
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The film industry was operating over capacity before the novel coronavirus forced productions to stop work, Mitchell said.
He said the industry will look very different than it was before the pandemic.
B次元官网网址淭here will be changes over time. In the short term, I donB次元官网网址檛 think youB次元官网网址檒l see any crowd scenes in productions around the world,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭he film industry is nothing if not adaptive.B次元官网网址�
He estimates 40,000 jobs were lost due to the pandemic but said he hopes British ColumbiaB次元官网网址檚 reputation as a safe destination will lure business back.
B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the provinceB次元官网网址檚 total to 2,669.
The province saw no deaths from the virus for the fourth day in a row.
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Henry said she hasnB次元官网网址檛 seen the WorkSafe guidance for the film and TV industry but noted that the issue of non-essential workers looking to travel to Canada will need to be addressed.
In B.C.B次元官网网址檚 four-phase restart plan, film and TV production were listed alongside hotels, resorts, parks and theatres as part of Phase 3 reopenings.
Henry said COVID-19 is still a major problem around the world and the virus B次元官网网址渞ecognizes no borders.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淎nd just yesterday was the highest single day for new cases globally since this pandemic started with more than 136,000 people being affected,B次元官网网址� she said.
Creative B.C., a provincial organization that supports a range of creative industries, is leading a group that will release a guide in mid-June for film for production companies to follow.
It has estimated that film and TV production contributes more than $3 billion annually to the provincial economy.
The Canadian Media Producers Association, a national trade association for English-language media producers, estimated in April that the COVID-19 pandemic would lead to job losses of up to 172,000 workers and a $2.5 billion loss in production volume.
Nick Wells , The Canadian Press
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