DAYS halts production

A positive COVID-19 test has forced Days of our Lives to shut down production for at least two weeks.

Days of our Lives has temporarily halted production due to a member of the NBC soap opera's production team testing positive for COVID-19.

According to Deadline, the positive result was revealed during a stringent routine testing protocol that the series implemented when it returned to taping in September. As a result, the NBC soap will shut down production for at least two weeks. Taping is slated to resume October 26.

"The person who received a positive result as part of the production's stringent testing protocol has been placed in isolation," Deadline reports.

Additionally, contract tracing has been completed, and persons identified as having come into close contact with the affected individual will quarantine for 14 days. The production facilities at DAYS' Burbank studio will undergo a deep cleaning.

Fortunately, it doesn't look as if the production pause will cause a delay to network airdates, meaning viewers won't experience an interruption of material on-screen.

Due to its advanced production schedule, Days of our Lives was the only network soap opera that did not have to air repeat episodes during the nationwide coronavirus shutdown that happened earlier this year; the NBC series was able to air brand-new episodes, even though it was out of production along with General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. DAYS was the last of the four daytime dramas to resume production, returning at the beginning of September.

DAYS is not the first soap to have to shut down over a positive COVID-19 test. In August, Deadline reported that a staffer from The Bold and the Beautiful tested positive for COVID-19. As a precaution, the studio moved up the show's dark week for that month and added a second dark week. B&B resumed production after the production halt and has been filming normally since that time.

UPDATE (October 19. 2020): Though Days of our Lives had reportedly planned to halt production until October 26 due to a positive COVID-19 diagnosis from one of its production team members last week, it seems that the NBC soap opera is already back in production. DAYS actress Lauren Koslow posted a selfie from her dressing room on Monday morning, sharing that she was back at work and starting the week dressed as her Salem alter ego, Kate Roberts. The show has not confirmed its updated production status, but fans can check out Koslows Instagram selfie below.

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As Soap Central previously reported, it doesn't look as if DAYS recent production pause will cause a delay to network airdates, which means viewers won't experience an interruption of material on-screen.

How do you feel about DAYS having to close down production for two weeks due to a positive COVID-19 result from a production member? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.

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