'The Masked Singer' Continues Production Despite 12 COVID-19 Cases On Set

Taping schedules for Fox’s upcoming season of “The Masked Singer” have not been halted despite 12 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on the set.

“The safety of the entire cast and crew has been and will continue to be our number one priority,” Fox Entertainment said in a statement cited by Variety. “We work closely with local and state officials and the unions to ensure we have the safest environment possible.”

According to the report, the Los Angeles County Public Health website confirmed that the 12 COVID-19 positive cases came from Red Studios Hollywood where the shooting of “The Masked Singer” is being held for its sixth season, set to be shown in the fall.

The 12 coronavirus cases were said to be a mix of community exposure and a few were listed as workplace exposure, the report said.

The new season of “The Masked Singer” began production at the end of June and is set to wrap on Aug. 11. This is the first season where audiences will return to the set since the pandemic began.

Variety said Fox Entertainment will start implementing stricter rules for audiences such as requiring them to show proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test before entering the set. The audience size will also be scaled down and children under 12 will not be admitted.

The outbreak of cases at the set of “The Masked Singer” comes at the heels of infections at the entertainment industry facilities around Hollywood due to the spike of the Delta variant in Los Angeles County.

Among those who were affected are six employees of the Motion Picture Industry Pension and Health Plan offices in Studio City. Four others from the NBCUniversal post-production facility on the Universal lot were also affected as well as three people at Endemol Shine North America’s North Hollywood Offices.

As “The Masked Singer” continues its production schedule, other shows had recently suspended shooting due to COVID-19 cases. The Hulu series, “Woke,” had to stop filming three times after multiple cases of COVID-19 hit the set.

“House of the Dragon,” a much-anticipated prequel to HBO’s hit, “Game of Thrones,” had also stopped shooting due to positive COVID-19 cases, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Both “Woke” and “House of the Dragon” have resumed production since last week.

Meanwhile, filming for the movie, “God is a Bullet,” starring Jamie Foxx and Nikolaj Coster Waldau was also suspended after actors who were vaccinated tested positive for COVID-19. Production for Tom Cruise’s “Mission: Impossible 7” also had to shut down for a while because of COVID-19 cases, The Wall Street Journal report added.