LOS ANGELES (CNS) - While shows like “The Crown'' and “Ted Lasso'' were garnering most of the attention at the Emmy Awards, some observers were quick to note that the star-studded event was held in a closed tent with crowded tables of stars, none of whom were wearing masks, despite COVID-19 health restrictions in place for the rest of Los Angeles County.
But county health officials insisted today the award show did not violate any COVID-19 rules.
Even actor Seth Rogen made note of the situation when he took the Emmy stage Sunday night to serve as a presenter, joking about the size of the crowd in a venue that he thought was going to be outdoors. Instead, he described the venue as a “hermetically sealed'' tent.
The event was held inside a tent at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.
In a statement Monday, the county Department of Public Health insisted that while current rules require mask-wearing indoors regardless of vaccination status, exemptions are provided for film, television and music productions.
“The Emmy Award show is a television production, and persons appearing on the show are considered performers,'' according to the agency. “All persons appearing on or in the audience of the Emmy Award show were fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Also, Public Health was informed that each of these persons had a verified negative PCR test prior to the show. In addition, production crew, pursuant to Cal-OSHA requirements, were required to be fully vaccinated or are testing, either PCR or antigen, twice per week.''
According to the statement, officials with the Television Academy reached out to the health department in advance to review safety protocols, “which exceeded the baseline requirements for television and film productions.''
“Public Health will continue to review the protocols of future large television production events and prescribe additional safety modifications to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission,'' according to the agency.
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.