The Federation of Western India Cine Employees (FWICE) has issued fresh guidelines for shooting, pre-production and post-production work amid the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in Maharashtra.

A statement issued by FWICE reads: “The office-bearers of FWICE had a Zoom meeting with the honourable Chief Minister, Shri Uddhav Thackeray. The FWICE has assured the CM that the industry will be responsible where the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of the COVID guidelines are concerned. FWICE in coordination with experts has laid down guidelines which all people involved in pre-production, shooting and post-production work will have to adhere. Please note that none of the below guidelines are up for negotiation. These guidelines as of now will be applicable till 30 April 2021.

1. The shooting of crowd sequences and songs with dancers in large numbers will not be allowed.

2. Wearing masks and continuous sanitisation is a must on the sets, in production offices, and in post-production studios.

3. A FWICE monitoring team has been constituted. They will be visiting sets and post-production studios to constantly check upon that all guidelines are being adhered. In case of flouting of any rule by an individual, they shall be liable for strictest disciplinary action by the FWICE.

4. Any individual or production creating any kind of hindrance in the path of the guidelines adherence, will be dealt with strictly.

“The production offices and post-production offices will be functional as we have been allowed by the government to complete our work so that shows and films can be aired.”

The notice further mentions that a complete lockdown will be followed from Friday 8pm to Monday 7am, and shooting, setting, pre-production or post-production activities should be avoided during this period.

The notice also requests members to adhere to guidelines in order to avoid a complete lockdown, which will be “quite shattering and destructive” for the members.

This comes at a time when Maharashtra is officially registering the highest number of Covid cases in India on a regular basis, during the second wave of the pandemic over the past few days.

As a result, Mumbai is experiencing another lockdown-like situation during the day, curfew at night and lockdown on weekends.