Coronavirus: Hong Kong’s TVB to test closed-loop system for staff to keep cameras rolling amid outbreak, possible lockdown
- TVB communication controller says voluntary scheme will divide employees into three shifts, require testing before entry and three-day stay on-site
- Broadcaster plans to formally introduce initiative in event of lockdown during mass testing
Hundreds of employees at Hong Kong’s biggest free-to-air television broadcaster are expected to join a trial run for a closed-loop system next week to ensure the continued production of programmes amid the Covid-19 outbreak and a possible lockdown during mass testing.
In response to the incident, Bonnie Wong Tak-wei, TVB’s corporation communication controller, said the company had set up a crisis management task force to devise measures to ensure staff safety and the sufficient supply of programmes.
“We need to continue to keep our TV productions up and running. Our strategy for this fifth wave of the pandemic is: there will be no shutdown of our broadcasting services,” she said. “This is also our social responsibility to maintain our services.”
Wong said TVB was inviting production staff to participate in a trial run of a closed-loop system for three weeks as part of crisis management measures.
The voluntary scheme will divide employees into three shifts, with participants required to undergo rapid antigen tests before starting work and they must remain at the TVB complex for at least three days per rotation.