Atlanta's Pinewood Studios, The Home Of Marvel Blockbusters And More, Spent $1 Million On COVID-19 Safety Measures

Pinewood Studios Atlanta, one of the country's biggest film studios –  700 acres, all told – has unveiled new health and safety measures to be used in the age of the coronavirus (COVID-19). And while this is just one studio, it's a major studio, which means other filming locations might be following in Pinewood Atlanta's footsteps.

According to Deadline, Pinewood Atlanta is working with "medical testing company BioIQ to protect and monitor entrants and with Synexis, a biodefense company, that created a custom plan for the facility using its patented Dry Hydrogen Peroxide technology to reduce viruses, bacteria, and mold in the air and on surfaces." The studio has spent $1 million to get things up to speed for a coronavirus world, upgrading its air quality, health testing, sanitation, and badging systems.

"We're committed to making Pinewood Atlanta Studios the cleanest and most secure production facility in the world," said CEO Frank Patterson. "We meticulously examined our systems and the way in which people interact on our lot to solve for every point of transmission we could uncover. When production restarts, we want all crew members to know that their health and safety is our top priority."

Changes include test kits, a testing process with lab access for those on the lot every day, including filmmakers, actors, crew members, and security. Pinewood Atlanta will also offer PPE and "top-of-the-line handwashing systems throughout the 700-plus acres of the lot." The studio has also gotten together with crew members, costume designers, and more, to come up with the proper protocols for everyone on set.

Georgia has become a major location for big movies – most Marvel movies film there at this point. With that in mind, it's safe to assume other studios throughout the country (and globe) will be following suit and enacting similar protocols. All of this is good news – these safety procedures are a must. But as the coronavirus count continues to rise – yesterday saw new coronavirus cases in the U.S. climb to the highest single-day total so far – it's clear that we're a long way off from getting back to business as usual.