Latest in Covid

Residents of the vast majority of California’s 58 counties should be wearing masks, according to the CDC. That’s because 40 of those counties are now designated communities with “High” Covid levels. Less than one month ago, the number was 13. The decision to return to mandated face coverings is not up to the CDC…

UPDATED with details and quote: Mask up, Hollywood. That’s according to Los Angeles County Public Health Officer Barbara Ferrer, and also seemingly according to the film and TV industry’s current Return-to-Work Agreement. “With new hospital admissions reaching more than 8 per week per 100,000 population, they will…

“All of the information to date points to the need for us to prepare for the likelihood of significant transmission in the upcoming weeks,” warned Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer today. Los Angeles Film & TV Productions Must Now Require Masking Indoors As Covid Numbers Hit “Escalation Trigge…

At the request of company members of Broadway’s The Minutes, producers announced today that audiences will be required to continue masking through the play’s final performance on Sunday, July 24, nearly a month after Broadway at large will shift to a mask optional policy. The Minutes, at the Studio 54 theater, becomes…

Ahead of the July 4 weekend, Los Angeles County today reported 6,529 daily Covid infections, which is very nearly the highest total the county has seen since early February. Only the 7,209 recorded on May 31 is higher. L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said earlier this week that daily infection…

A little over a month after the more transmissible BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant became officially dominant in the U.S. on May 24, two sister subvariants of Omicron have quickly eclipsed BA.2.12.1 across the country. BA.5 and BA.4 are, like BA.2.12.1, more transmissible, but have the added advantage of reportedly being…

After temporarily shuttering amid a surge in Covid cases last March, China's Shanghai Disneyland will reopen to the public this week, management at Shanghai Disney Resort said today. Ticket sales and annual pass reservations resume from tomorrow and the park will then return to operations on Thursday, June 30…

Sutton Foster, who stars opposite Hugh Jackman in the Broadway hit revival The Music Man, has tested positive for Covid for a second time since December and will miss performances until Wednesday, July 6. Jackman returned to the show June 22 following his own second bout with the illness, which he announced the day…

The Broadway revival of American Buffalo, performed at the in-the-round Circle in the Square Theatre, will continue to require audience masking through July 10, the production’s closing date. In a statement released today, producers said, “Due to the close proximity of the audience to the actors as a result of the…

UPDATE with Broadway League response In a letter sent to members of Actors’ Equity Association and obtained by Deadline, the union says that the Broadway League’s decision to adopt a “mask optional” policy for audience members beginning in July was “made unilaterally, without input” from the union. In a response…

“I’m feeling better…but I still don’t have a ton of energy,” a sometimes-emotional Mayim Bialik said today in an update on her condition after she announced yesterday that she has Covid. "It's no joke," the actress, who is vaccinated and boosted, said of the virus in a Monday Instagram post. “It’s very exhausting, the…

Broadway will adopt a “mask optional” policy for audiences in July, the Broadway League announced today. Audience members will be encouraged, but not mandated, to wear masks in theaters. Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League said: "Millions of people enjoyed the unique magic of Broadway by watching the…