California Says Live Sports, Film Production Can Resume June 12

(Bloomberg) -- Live sports and film production can restart in California as soon as June 12, according to state officials, putting an end to a three-month hiatus that’s hammered the entertainment industry.

Companies will still have to adhere to health and safety guidelines in their jurisdictions, according to state rules released Friday. And even when in-person entertainment activities restart, they’ll look far different than they did before the coronavirus shutdown. The most populous U.S. state still isn’t allowing sports to have live audiences, though teams can resume training and competition.

Guidelines released Monday by major film studios and entertainment trade groups recommend that movie and TV sets stay socially distanced, with stand-ins wearing masks and surfaces getting regularly sanitized. They also suggested some scenes be rewritten to minimize touching.

Still, the green light from state officials will provide some relief. Many of Hollywood’s almost 900,000 entertainment workers have been out of work since studios and venues were shuttered in March.

Los Angeles County, the heart of the entertainment business, said on May 27 that it had adequate hospital and testing capacity to move into the “expanded” stage two of its reopening process. Entertainment venues with audiences are considered higher risk and can’t be reopened until stage four, according to county officials.

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