Panaji, Jun 25 (IANS): Installation of the Aarogya Setu app by film crew members has been made mandatory for film crew shooting in Goa, as part of a new SOP issued by a nodal state government agency, even as pregnant women have been banned from film shootings in the coastal state.
The SOPs issued by the Entertainment Society of Goa, a state government body, which works as a nodal agency for granting permissions and enforcing norms for film shoots in the state, also states, that all film shoots in the state should have an onside Covid-19 help desk, while also capping the number of crew members involved on location during shoots, for both fiction and non-fiction films.
"Installation of the Aarogya Setu app on mobile phones shall be mandatory for all persons involved in shooting, permissions and related ancillary activities... Shooting is preferred to be done in the open areas, away from residential and densely populated areas," the new guidelines issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the Society Amit Satija has said.
"Any pregnant woman should not be allowed on the set. However, if an employee has a spouse pregnant they could be allowed if the employee is stationed away from the home during the shooting duration and submit self declaration," it further states.
The SOPs also advises film casting directors to desist from holding physical auditions and instead has directed that casting for the shoots should be conducted online or via video.
"These conversations which the casting director or team have should be recorded and stored in drives or computers," the advisory states, adding that the total number of crew members involved in shooting cannot exceed more than 100 to 110 for non fiction and 50 to 55 for fiction film projects.
"Sanitisation will be given utmost importance and the set will be sanitised every day beforehand after the shoot of all equipment, shooting floors, rooms, etc. Every set will have three types of sanitizers available -- hand sanitizer, surface sanitizer and space sanitizer, which members will have to study and use appropriately," it also said.