The majority — but not all — of those entering the Dolby Theater for this year’s Academy Awards will be required to provide confirmation of COVID-19 immunization, Variety has verified.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences decided on Thursday, as originally reported by the New York Times, that all candidates and invited guests must produce evidence of immunization and test negative at least twice by PCR testing. Those who perform and present at the awards event, on the other hand, will not be required to produce evidence of vaccination but will be subjected to a thorough examination.
This clarifies the Academy’s COVID-19 policy, since it was previously stated on Feb. 9 that registrants would not be required to provide evidence of vaccination. The decision to not need confirmation of vaccination for presenters and performers arises under the COVID-19 return-to-work agreement between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and unions, according to a person close to the matter. The agreement allows production companies to request COVID-19 immunizations for Zone A, which includes the cast and crew who deal closely with the performers, although it is not required.
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The Dolby Theater, which seats over 3,300 people, will host 2,500 nominees and guests for this year’s Oscars event. Guests and nominees sitting in the orchestra and parterre areas of the auditorium will not be forced to wear face masks, according to the Times. Those sat on the mezzanine, on the other hand, may be required to wear masks because of their close proximity.
Other big corporations and events are easing their COVID-19 regulations as COVID-19 instances fall in the Los Angeles region. Disney theme parks no longer need fully vaccinated customers to wear masks as of this week. Coachella also stated on Tuesday that no evidence of COVID-19 immunization or testing would be needed to attend the April event. Meanwhile, the city of Los Angeles’ indoor masking rule is anticipated to be lifted in late March, but it is unclear if this would happen before or after the March 27 event.