FSC Issues Second Update on Production Moratorium

LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition today issued a second update on the production moratorium still in place and the progress of follow-up testing currently underway. The update is provided here in its entirety: We spoke with the PASS testing facility doctors this morning, and want to issue an update on the current moratorium and testings. Currently, all people who have had at-risk contact with the positive performer have been retested with the RNA Aptima test. At this point, we are awaiting one final test result from a performer who went to a personal physician whose testing system does not have as swift a turnaround time as industry clinics. If the results of that final are clear, we will establish a date to lift the moratorium. Until then, it remains in place. A moratorium is only lifted after it is clear there is no threat of transmission.  Only after a genealogy of the virus is established, and all sexual partners have been tested, do the FSC and PASS discuss whether it is safe for performers to resume shooting. If the final test comes back negative, FSC and PASS will set two dates: a date on which production can resume, and the date after which performers must show a negative test in order to be able to work. While we cannot yet offer the former, we can announce the later: All performers must have a test dated December 5, 2013 or after in order to be cleared to work. The HIV RNA Aptima test used by PASS has a 7-10 day window, meaning that it can identify HIV within 7-10 days of transmission. We wait at least 14 days after any possible exposure before lifting the moratorium for added accuracy, and to make sure that nothing was missed. The December 5 date is two weeks after the performer’s last shoot, on November 21. The HIV RNA Aptima test is the most accurate test available. Because of its specificity and sensitivity a false positive (where a performer tests positive for HIV, but does not actually have it) will occur from time to time.  We have never encountered a false negative. We only lift the moratorium if there is no medical reason for it to be extended. While most studios stockpile films and can weather a longer moratorium, individual performers often have to contend with a direct loss of income once shooting stops. We know this has been a difficult time for performers, both emotionally and financially. But we will lift the moratorium only when PASS doctors, using protocols outlined above, determine a safe date for production to resume. We expect to have the results of that final test in the next few days. We will let you know as soon as we hear the results.