by Thinus Ferreira
South Africa's biggest broadcasters, the pay-TV operator MultiChoice and Netflix South Africa are quiet on whether these companies - collectively employing and paying hundreds of thousands of their own staff and through TV and film productions -will move to mandatory vaccinations for employees and people working on their television series, and will make their buildings, offices and studios in the country vaccinated-only zones.
With South Africa facing a looming fourth face of the global Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, Discovery last week became the first listed company in South Africa to announce that it will make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for its employees from January 2022, including for its suppliers, visitors, as well as turning its buildings in vaccinated-only zones.
MultiChoice created a vaccination site in July at its Randburg headquarters in Johannesburg for its DStv, GOtv, M-Net and Showmax staff, their families and those families' domestic workers; followed by the public broadcaster that set up a SABC pop-up vaccination site at its Auckland Park headquarters in late-August.
MultiChoice and M-Net, the SABC; as well as eMedia Holdings that runs e.tv, the satellite-TV service Openview and the TV news channel eNCA; have all lost some of their own staff members, as well as people working across their various TV productions, who have died from Covid-19 complications.
Neither MultiChoice nor the SABC, or eMedia, have so far said whether they will be doing more to protect their thousands of staff members - some of whom have continued to work from company premises as designated essential personnel and many more who will at some point have to return back to the physical office - by making buildings and studios vaccinated-only zones, or through ordering staff to be vaccinated.
In late-July the global video streaming service Netflix took the lead and announced a mandatory Covid-19 vaccination policy the casts and crews working on all productions of its film and TV series in the United States, as well as for Netflix staff and visitors to its buildings.
Netflix is considering a similar policy for the United Kingdom.
It's not clear whether Netflix is extending this policy, or plans to introduce it for the streamer's African and South African operations where it has been filming various shows during the pandemic like the upcoming second season of Blood & Water in Cape Town whilst adhering to Covid-19 safe on-set safety protocols.
Netflix in response to a media query from TVwithThinus declined to comment.
There's also no clarity whether the SABC, e.tv, M-Net or Showmax are planning to move to mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations for their productions.
All of them have continued to produce big-budget soaps and telenovelas during the pandemic, employing large casts and crews, as well as reality shows done with contestants and crews isolated in so-called Covid-19-safe "bubble production" on-location.
eMedia didn't respond when asked if the company will compel its own staff, as well as the cast and crews of production companies producing content forits TV channel, will be ordered to provide proof of vaccination before being allowed on set.
MultiChoice was also asked if MultiChoice will require allemployees to be fully vaccinated before returning to physical buildings, or not, and why. MultiChoice didn't answer the question and stated what the pay-TV operator's current position is, namely "Vaccination for MultiChoice employees is voluntary".
Gugu Ntuli, SABC spokesperson, in response to a media query asking whether the South African public broadcaster will make its headquarters and regional offices vaccine-only buildings or order mandatory vaccinations for its large TV productions, told TVwithThinus that the SABC is waiting on the South African government to make a decision on it first.
"The SABC will be guided by a national policy and regulation directive and promulgation thereof. Once a national decision has been made by the appropriate structures, the SABC will respond accordingly with reasonable consideration for the individual employee requirements."
On Monday, Joe Phaahla, South Africa's minister of health and epidemiologist Prof Salim Abdool Karim, attended a MultiChoice and M-Net media briefing for MultiChoice's new Zero to Zero Covid-19 documentary that will be broadcast on 4 October on M-Net (DStv 101).
Prof Salim Abdool Karim warned that people should get vaccinated before the projected fourth wave of Covid-19 infections and resultant deaths hit South Africa around November or December this year.
"If you are going to get infected in the fourth wave, I really hope that you are vaccinated because if you are vaccinated, you are unlikely to need ICU care," Prof Salim Abdool Karim said.
"I know we would like to go back to the way things were, but, unfortunately, the [Covid-19] waves don't agree with us on that score and the waves are demanding that we use our preventative measures - if we are able to control them or if we are to mitigate their full impact."
