Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday released a new Standard operating procedure (SOP), for film and TV program production in India.
In an official video statement, he said that it is time to resume the work of the industry under set guidelines to fight COVID-19 as the film industry is a source of employment to a huge number of people and contributes to the economy as well.
He also released the guidelines on twitter explaining the shooting of movies, TV shows, etc.
The SOP ensures adequate distancing at shoot locations and other work places and contains measures including proper sanitization, crowd management and provision for protective equipments pic.twitter.com/BCTTIzKffG
— Prakash Javadekar (@PrakashJavdekar) August 23, 2020
The SOP which is released in consultation with the Ministry of Home Affairs lists a number of rules which a crew should follow while shooting.
Protective face masks are necessary for all workers except the actors in front of the camera. Hand sanitizer and thermal screening are mandatory at entry points and physical distancing should be maintained. Employees above the age of 60 are also to be exempted from “frontline” work and audience, cast, and crew not part of the shooting shall also be barred from the sets. In addition, only asymptomatic people will be allowed on the production sets. Arogya Setu app has also been advised by the Minister.
The decision has come in the light of demands from the industry to resume their work which was closed down since March 25 amidst surging COVID-19 cases and lockdown.
