Production of The Young and the Restless is on track to continue following positive COVID-19 test results from two people connected to the CBS soap opera.
According to a report by Deadline, an email was sent to production crew early this week, informing them of the diagnoses and that "the individuals have begun self-isolation."
The letter also stated that "the affected areas of the production will be deep cleaned and disinfected," and that "contact tracing has been completed and those individuals who were in close contact with the affected individuals have been notified. The production will take steps to respect all affected workers' privacy."
The positive results were revealed as part of Y&R's strict coronavirus safety protocols, which include the wearing of masks, social distancing, and regular COVID-19 testing, the latter of which is being monitored by a COVID officer on set.
Luckily for viewers of the soap opera, it was reportedly determined that neither of the two individuals who tested positive have impacted the show's ability to film the scenes being taped this week, which include a large family gathering that features about 15 actors in close proximity. (Industry COVID guidelines require that actors wear masks until just before taping begins.)
Like all of the daytime soap operas, The Young and the Restless was forced to shut down production in mid-March due to the pandemic. When it ran out of new material, the show began airing classic episodes, often as part of themed weeks. It restarted production on July 14, and original episodes began airing once again on August 10.
Days of our Lives, which resumed production on September 1, also had an issue with a positive COVID-19 test from one of its production crew members in mid-October. As a result, the NBC soap was forced to halt production while the DAYS' Burbank studio underwent a deep cleaning and contract tracing was completed. The persons identified as having come into close contact with the affected individual were sent to quarantine for 14 days. Fortunately, the production pause reportedly did not cause a delay to network airdates, and viewers won't experience an interruption of material on-screen.
Meanwhile, Deadline reported that a staffer from The Bold and the Beautiful tested positive for COVID-19 back in August. As a precaution, the studio moved up the show's dark week for that month and added a second dark week. B&B resumed production after the production halt and has been filming normally since that time. (Well, "normally" if you don't count the fact that the CBS soap is using mannequins as stand-ins during intimate scenes!)
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