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The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is asking the film industry to halt production for several weeks due to rising COVID-19 cases. In an email sent to the industry contacts on December 24, published by FilmLA, the official film office of the city and province, the department tentatively recommends the termination of operations. “Although music, TV and film productions are allowed, we urge you to strongly consider keeping the work quiet for a few weeks during this catastrophic boom in COVID cases,” the LADPH wrote. “Identify and delay higher-risk activities, focusing on low-risk work for now, if at all possible.” He also warned that it is not currently a recommendation to travel for production purposes, as it could ‘make people more likely to end up together in vehicles or indoors in a less controlled environment.’ Tom Cruise, are you reading this?
The health advice comes as Los Angeles County reports 13,661 new daily cases of COVID-19 and 73 new deaths. On December 23, California became the first state to surpass 2 million COVID-19 cases, resulting in there being hospitals, even during the state’s home stay. An official announcement by California Gov. Gavin Newsom over the extension of stay-at-home orders is expected Tuesday.