Actors Union Turns To Expert For Safe Return To Filming

HOLLYWOOD, CA — Former Los Angeles County Public Health Director Jonathan Fielding has joined a team of specialists advising the actors union in developing safety protocols for preventing the spread of COVID-19 when production resumes on entertainment projects, the union announced Wednesday.

Fielding will begin work immediately, starting with a thorough evaluation of data from leading public health organizations including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, according to the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.

His work will also involve labor relations, industrial sanitation and will include safety representatives of studios, networks and industry-related organizations from throughout the world.

"COVID-19 remains a most serious health threat to all those who want and need to return to work," Fielding said. "Therefore, developing guidelines to safeguard people's health as they work is a critical element of re-opening this important industry."

SAG-AFTRA's president, Gabrielle Carteris, said the union is working tirelessly to establish a structure to allow its members to safely return to work. She called Fielding's expertise "a critical piece in solving the unique challenges our industry presents."

Fielding was the public health director and health officer for Los Angeles County for 16 years and is a professor of pediatrics and health policy and management at UCLA's Schools of Public Health and Medicine. He has previously served as a member of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' National Health Security Strategy committee, was the long-serving chair of the Task Force on Community Preventive Services, and is a frequent speaker on topics including public health and safety, epidemiology, disease prevention and infectious disease.

City News Service