by Thinus Ferreira
Muvhango has become South Africa's latest primetime TV series to abruptly halt production after a crew member was exposed to someone who has the Covid-19 coronavirus.
South Africa's film and TV industry has shed thousands of jobs and struggled to restart production under stringent on-set health protocols since the entire industry was shut down for 8 weeks since late March 2020 because of the country's Covid-19 national lockdown period.
Just after local TV productions resumed work, first M-Net's The River produced by Tshedza Pictures for 1Magic (DStv 103), and then Skeem Saam produced by SABC1 was forced to shut down the past few weeks because of Covid-19 cases.
Now the SABC's Venda-drama series on SABC2 produced by Word of Mouth shut down production on Wednesday until further notice.
Herbert Hadebe, Muvhango's series producer, says that similar to The River and Skeem Saam, both produced in Johannesburg, production was halted to reduce the risk of exposure to Covid-19 on set.
"We are prioritizing the safety of all staff members. We will be constantly monitoring the evolving situation and adapting our efforts and responses. We will continue working together with the SABC as we comply to Covid-19 measures and regulations," says Herbert Hadebe.
The Muvhango cast and crew have been asked to self-isolate until further notice and a deep-clean with the help of the SABC is going to take place at the studio.
Muvhango will continue uninterrupted on SABC2 with enough pre-recorded episodes for the time being.
ALSO READ: SABC1's Skeem Saam shuts down because of Covid-19 infection fears, crew and cast go into self-isolation as studio and offices are disinfected.
ALSO READ: Coronavirus: Production on The River telenovela for M-Net's 1Magic on DStv shutters after colleague tests positive for Covid-19, Tshedza Pictures locks studio doors for decontamination and will not do interviews.
