Dear LMGI Members and Business Partners,
While across the board protocol has yet to be established, the following are recommended Health & Safety Guidelines for a post-Covid world.
AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) COVID Guideline
Australia COVID Guideline
British Film Commission COVID Guideline
California, US, Film LA COVID Guideline
France COVID Guideline
Georgia, US COVID Guideline
City and County of Honolulu COVID Guideline
Iceland COVID Guideline
International Cinematographers Guild COVID Guideline
Manitoba, Canada COVID Guideline
New York, USA COVID Guideline
New Zealand COVID Guideline
Nordic Film Guide COVID Guideline
Ontario, Canada Section 21 COVID Guideline
South Africa COVID Guideline
Spain COVID Guideline
Tim Williams, Executive Director of LMGI Business Partner Oregon Film welcomes production that adheres to applicable elements of general guidelines. Additionally all productions must have a “Health & Safety Plan” defining protocols complying with Oregon’s Three Phase Reopening, keeping cast and crew safe from COVID-19.
Covid 19 has turned the world upside down. It’s the arch nemesis that the entertainment industry could never have imagined. Disrupting production. Provoking anxiety and uncertainty.
In the midst of pandemic pandemonium, the LMGI is concerned with your well being. In these stressful times, jobs have canceled or gone on indefinite hold. Many of us have been directly impacted by the virus. Others are self-quarantining while the world figures out how and when to reopen.
In times like these we need to support each other. Despite being socially distanced, you are not alone (as our Coffee Tuesdays attests to!). While we are all charting new waters, remember the LMGI’s founding mission is to support our fellow location professionals.
To that end, we have gathered a listing of resources that may be helpful to you in these coming days, weeks and months. We continue to add listings, so if you need help, keep checking back in the days to come. Be mindful…Stay safe.
From America as far as Australia, health insurance companies and medical industry leaders are concerned with the health and well-being of its citizens. At this time, many are offering resources available to activate via Telehealth. Telehealth is the distribution of health-related services and information via electronic information and telecommunication technologies and allows long-distance patient and clinician contact. Check your local insurance provider to learn of their resources.
Some are available at no charge until September 30, 2020.
Worldwide–virtual support is also available for recovery for anyone with mental and/or substance use disorders thru Narcotics Anonymous, Alcoholics Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous and various mental Health service providers.
https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/virtual-recovery-resources.pdf
Ontario, Canada–free, confidential service you can call to get health advice or information. A Registered Nurse will take your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Assistance is available in more than 300 languages. When you call Telehealth, tell them what language you speak, and you will be connected to an interpreter. Toll-free: 1-866-797-0000 https://www.ontario.ca/page/get-medical-advice-telehealth-ontario
Australia–new temporary MBS telehealth items have been made available to help reduce the risk of community transmission of coronavirus (COVID-19) and provide protection for patients and health care providers. September 30, 2020.
A range of health care providers can now provide telehealth services to patients include: general practitioners (GPs), specialists, allied health providers, mental health professionals, nurse practitioners
USA—administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)—will temporarily pay clinicians to provide telehealth services for beneficiaries residing across the entire country. Medicare beneficiaries will be able to receive various services through telehealth including common office visits, mental health counseling, and preventive health screenings. Many COVID-19 related telehealth coverage expansion and patient cost share waivers will be extended through Sept. 30, 2020.
https://www.ahip.org/health-insurance-providers-respond-to-coronavirus-covid-19/
https://actorsfund.org/
Founded in 1882, we serve all professionals—and not just actors—in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio and dance through programs that address our community’s unique and essential needs.
Employment in any division of the performing arts and entertainment industry is unpredictable. Work is erratic, security is fleeting and health insurance is often just a dream. For all of these reasons and many more, The Actors Fund is an indispensable and deeply significant part of the entire entertainment community.
As a national organization with offices in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, we directly serve thousands of performing arts and entertainment professionals across the country every year, in person and via our online resources. Our programs are wide in scope, responsive in nature and produce significant results.
The AFC (The Actors Fund Canada)
https://afchelps.ca/
Motion Picture Fund (US)
https://mptf.com/
MPTF offers a variety of services that can provide emotional and financial relief to people and their families during hardship. Whether the hardship is personal or the result of an entertainment industry-wide event, MPTF is here when you need us most.
FILM & TV CHARITY (UK)
https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/
The Film and TV Charity offers emotional and financial support services, including counseling, legal advice and financial grants. The charity’s support grants offer one-off financial support for people facing urgent and immediate financial crisis to help you get back on your feet.
DGA-PRODUCER HEALTH PLAN UPDATE & ADDITIONAL MEMBER RESOURCES (US)
For members who begin experiencing financial emergencies or hardship, there are resources available to you including the Directors Guild Foundation which offers confidential interest-free loans to members in need (email: Foundation@dga.org). Additionally, the Motion Picture Television Fund (MPTF) remains fully committed to its mission of helping the entertainment industry workforce, and is available to provide financial assistance and case management to those experiencing hardship related to coronavirus including production shutdowns, work slowdowns, layoffs or other issues. The MPTF can be reached at (323) 634-3888.
FILM + TV Charity (UK)
24/7 UK-based Film and TV support hotline and website.
How Freelancers can claim paid sick leave in a corona virus emergency (US)
Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (IRELAND)
This payment is available to employees and self-employed people who are unemployed or who have their hours of work reduced during the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic. This includes people who have been put on part-time or casual work.
The payment has a simple one-page application form and will be paid for a period of 6 weeks at a flat rate payment of €203 per week for jobseekers. It is designed to quickly deliver a social welfare payment to the unemployed and provide income security during the pandemic.
Netflix Virus Relief Fund – $100 Million Virus Relief Fund (details in article, world-wide distribution of funds)
Home Dog LA (LOS ANGELES, US)
Helping pet owners with resources for their pets if they fall on hard times.