vox--2020-03-31--How the coronavirus outbreak is roiling the film and entertainment industries

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic , which was first identified in China in December , has had sweeping effects in the public health , business , and travel sectors , among others .
And while the repercussions for the entertainment industry may seem to pale in comparison to the clear threat the virus poses to human life , the ripple effects do have implications for the people around the world who make a living producing and distributing movies , music , and more .
The immense and lucrative Chinese film industry was hit almost immediately as movie theaters across the country @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Hollywood soon began to feel the effects , too , and as time passes , the impact of the coronavirus on the global film and entertainment industries will certainly grow .
Consequences of the pandemic on these industries could range from lowered attendance at film festivals and disruptions in film distribution to delayed or canceled movie releases and concert dates to curtailed on-location film shoots .
Financial ramifications will likely be felt by studios , filmmakers , theater owners , and more for months or even years .
Here are the biggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ industry in response to the pandemic .
Most recently , Sony delayed nearly all of its summer 2020 tentpole movie releases until 2021 .
K-pop concerts canceled , including BTS shows : On February 28 , the hugely popular K-pop group BTS canceled a series of planned concerts in Seoul .
The shows were scheduled for April 11 and 12 and April 18 and 19 at Seoul ’ s Olympic Stadium .
The group ’ s management agency said the decision was made due to the impossibility of predicting the scale of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cited the health and safety of the musicians themselves , workers , and concertgoers .
Two hundred thousand fans were expected to attend .
Days earlier , BTS had asked fans to avoid a series of TV appearances scheduled to promote their newest album , Map Of The Soul : 7 , which had originally been planned to include studio audiences .
The group also appealed to fans via a streamed press conference .
“ Health is always on our minds these days , and our messages of facing your inner self and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you ’ re healthy , especially since it is very risky outside these days , ” one of the singers , Jimin , said .
” I hope you take care of yourself.
” The entire Korean entertainment sector has been affected by the outbreak , and K-pop has been hit particularly hard , with groups including GOT7 , Winner , Sechs Kies , ( G ) I-DLE , and others canceling scheduled tour dates .
Variety reported that box office revenue in South Korea was down 30 to 40 percent in January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ canceled : On March 6 , the city of Austin , Texas , declared a state of disaster , requiring the cancellation of public gatherings and events for the near future .
The most notable of those is the cancellation of South by Southwest , the annual music , film , TV , and technology festival that serves as a significant financial powerhouse for the city .
The announcement came after a week full of major companies — including Netflix , Apple , Amazon , WarnerMedia , Facebook , Twitter , TikTok , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dropping out of the well-attended event , canceling panels , premieres , and other appearances .
Days later , SXSW organizers announced that they had laid off one-third of the festival ’ s employees in what they called “ a necessary , but heartbreaking , step.
” Emerald City Comic Con delayed : The organizing body behind Emerald City Comic Con , the largest convention of its kind in Seattle , Washington , announced on March 6 that it will postpone the event until sometime this summer .
The event was scheduled to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ We did everything that we could to run the event as planned , but ultimately , we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed , ” convention organizers Reedpop said in a statement published on the Emerald City Comic Con website .
Cannes Film Festival delayed : The 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival , arguably the most prestigious film festival in the world , is still in question following an announcement from the festival ’ s organizers on March 19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ late June or early July , ” or another time .
( The festival had been slated to take place May 12 to 23 and draws thousands of industries and press from around the globe each year . )
The festival first issued a statement on February 28 after the first case of coronavirus in nearby Nice , France , was confirmed by the city ’ s mayor , saying that organizers were monitoring the situation but planned for the festival to go forward .
( Cannes is a seaside resort town @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 30 km from Nice . )
Coachella delayed : Goldenvoice , the organizers of Coachella , one of the largest annual music festivals in the US , announced on March 10 that the festival would be postponed due to concerns about Covid-19 .
Another Goldenvoice festival , the country music-oriented Stagecoach , has also been postponed .
The Indio , California-based event was originally set to run for two weekends , April 10-12 and April 17-19 , with the same talent lineups performing both weekends .
It will now run from October 9-11 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ been pushed back from April to October 23-25 .
Electronics Entertainment Expo ( E3 ) canceled : The 2020 Electronic Entertainment Expo ( E3 ) — the single biggest trade show in the video game industry — has been canceled .
The Entertainment Software Association , which organizes the event , announced that it would not go forward with the annual event due to coronavirus fears in California , where E3 takes place .
The event was scheduled for June 9 to 11 .
The organization said it will contact exhibitors and attendees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and that it is considering ways to “ coordinate an online experience ” in lieu of the in-person event .
It also maintains that E3 will return next year as planned .
The NBA suspended basketball games indefinitely : A player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus on March 11 , leading NBA officials to call off that night ’ s Jazz game just before tip-off .
As a further precautionary measure , the league issued a statement that it would suspend the basketball season “ until further notice.
” Prior @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rest of the season , the NBA made other efforts to protect players and fans .
The league barred media from locker rooms , and publicly considered having teams play to empty arenas , before ultimately stopping play altogether .
2020 Tokyo Olympics delayed : On March 24 , following pressure from athletes and multiple nations ’ Olympic committees , the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed , possibly until 2021 ; on March 30 , the dates were set for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ delays nearly all its movies until 2021 : On March 30 , Sony announced that nearly all of its summer tentpole films would be delayed until late 2020 or early 2021 .
Delayed movies include Kevin Hart ’ s Fatherhood , Jared Leto ’ s Morbius , Ghostbusters : Afterlife , Uncharted , and the previously-delayed Peter Rabbit 2 : The Runaway .
The only film that appeared unaffected was the Spider-Man : Far From Home sequel , which is still set for theatrical release on July 16 , 2020 .
Wonder Woman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : On March 24 , Warner Bros. announced that it would delay the release of Wonder Woman 1984 from June 5 to August 14 .
The studio also pulled three films from its release schedule : In the Heights , an adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical originally scheduled for a June 26 release ; Scoob , a Scooby-Doo animated film originally scheduled for May 15 ; and Malignant , a thriller from Aquaman director James Wan that had originally been scheduled for August 14 .
( Malignant ’ s move is designed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s release . )
NBCUniversal to release major films digitally : In an unprecedented move , NBCUniversal announced on March 16 that it would make some movies available digitally the same day they are released in movie theaters that remain open , including Trolls World Tour , which is set to hit theaters on April 10 .
Movies currently in theatrical release will also be available on-demand , including The Hunt , The Invisible Man , and Emma .
According to the Hollywood Reporter , those films may become available on-demand as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Movies will be available for a 48-hour rental period for $ 19.99 in the US and an equivalent price abroad .
Disney postpones major releases : On March 12 , Disney confirmed that three of its biggest releases of the year — Mulan ( scheduled for March 27 ) , The New Mutants ( scheduled for April 3 ) , and Antlers ( scheduled for April 17 ) — would be postponed out of an abundance of caution .
Disney did not set a new release date .
The Chinese and European premieres @ @ @ @ @ @ @ well .
On March 17 , Disney announced the postponement of three more films : Black Widow ( originally set for May 1 ) , The Personal History of David Copperfield ( May 8 ) , and The Woman in the Window ( May 15 ) .
The delays followed movie theater shutdowns in multiple states as well as country-wide shutdowns of Regal and AMC theaters .
No Time to Die : On February 16 , MGM announced that it would cancel the Chinese premiere and publicity tour planned for the new James @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which was scheduled for April .
On March 4 , the studio announced that it had delayed the film ’ s release until late November , making the film the first major tentpole release to be delayed worldwide .
Sonic the Hedgehog : On February 24 , Paramount Pictures announced that it would delay the release of Sonic the Hedgehog in China , with a new release date to be determined .
Peter Rabbit 2 : On March 10 , Sony announced that it would push the global release of Peter Rabbit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ April to August .
A Quiet Place Part II : On March 12 , A Quiet Place Part II director John Krasinski announced via Twitter that the movie ’ s planned March 19 release date would be delayed .
“ One of the things I ’ m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together .
Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what ’ s going on in the world around us , now is clearly not the right time to do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie ...
I ’ m gon na wait to release the film till we CAN see it all together !
So here ’ s to our group movie date !
See you soon !
” Fast and Furious 9 : On March 12 , Universal Pictures announced that it would delay the release date of the ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise by 11 months , from May 22 to April 2 , 2021 .
Chinese movies scrapped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ biggest films of China ’ s year are usually scheduled to release during the Lunar New Year holiday , near the end of January , but mounting fears of the coronavirus and public reticence to be in crowded spaces caused distributors to voluntarily cancel or postpone several film releases .
Huanxi , distributor of the Chinese blockbuster Lost in Russia , announced on January 22 that the film would premiere online for free .
Promotional materials encouraged audiences to “ stay safely at home and watch Lost in Russia with your mom.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dragon became the second major Chinese film to premiere online , as theaters are closed by order of the government .
Film and TV productions halted , altered , or shut down Eurovision canceled : On March 18 , the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest announced via Twitter that the 2020 edition of the event was canceled .
The event had been planned for May .
TV shows suspend production : Hundreds of shows have delayed or suspended production , including Apple ’ s The Morning Show and Little America ; Netflix @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s Riverdale ; NBC shows including the Chicago dramas and The Kelly Clarkson Show ; CBS shows including the NCIS dramas , The Amazing Race , and Survivor ; and many more .
Saturday Night Live also announced on March 16 that it would suspend its next three shows , the first of which was scheduled for March 28 , with John Krasinski hosting .
( Krasinski ’ s film A Quiet Place Part II , originally scheduled for release on March 19 , was also delayed . )
Late-night shows suspend @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : Originally , on March 11 , producers of shows including NBC ’ s The Tonight Show ( hosted by Jimmy Fallon ) and Late Night With Seth Meyers , CBS ’ s Late Show With Stephen Colbert , TBS ’ s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee , and Comedy Central ’ s Daily Show ( hosted by Trevor Noah ) all announced they would begin taping without a live studio audience on March 16 .
A day later , NBC announced that The Tonight Show and Late Night would suspend production beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Colbert also announced that the Late Show would suspend production .
All three shows were already scheduled to go into hiatus on March 23 .
On March 13 , Jimmy Kimmel Live also suspended production .
Disney suspends live-action production : On March 13 , Disney announced that production on its live-action movies would suspend production .
Affected films include The Little Mermaid , a Home Alone reboot , and Peter Pan .
Earlier in the day , production on Marvel ’ s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings had been suspended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s decision to self-isolate upon advice of a doctor .
( Marvel is owned by Disney . )
Jia Zhangke project delayed : At the Berlin Film Festival in February , famed Chinese director Jia Zhangke ( Ash Is Purest White , A Touch of Sin ) told Indiewire that production on his new film , which was slated to begin in April , was delayed indefinitely .
Jia spoke with Indiewire at the Berlin Film Festival , where his documentary Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue premiered .
But he said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ d feared his flight to Berlin would be canceled , and that some of his collaborators chose not to make the trip .
Regarding his next film , he said : Mission : Impossible production paused : On February 26 , Paramount Pictures announced that it had halted a planned three-week shoot in Venice for the seventh installment in the Mission : Impossible franchise .
“ Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew , and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coronavirus , we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice , the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission : Impossible 7 , ” a Paramount spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter .
“ During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts .
We will continue to monitor this situation , and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.
” Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune tape without a studio audience @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sources told the Hollywood Reporter on March 9 that scheduled tapings of the shows would go forward without a live studio audience .
The measure was taken partly as a precaution for the health of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek , who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer .
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announce they ’ ve contracted the virus : One of Hollywood ’ s biggest stars , Tom Hanks , announced that he and his wife Rita Wilson had contracted the coronavirus while shooting Baz Luhrmann ’ s untitled Elvis Presley film @ @ @ @ @ @ @ publicly on March 11 , Hanks was his typical upbeat self : All Disney parks shut down : On January 25 , Disney shut down its Shanghai Disneyland park over fears of the coronavirus .
The park is a major revenue generator , with 11.8 million guests in 2018 , 50 percent from outside the Shanghai region , and an estimated $ 1 billion in annual revenue and $ 50 million in operating profit .
A day after Shanghai Disneyland ’ s closure , Hong Kong Disneyland shut down .
Both Disney parks @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Disney announced on March 11 that they will remain closed through at least the end of April .
Late in the day on March 12 , Disneyland in California announced it would close the following day ; by that evening , the company announced that all of its parks would close , including those in Florida and Disneyland Paris ( where three staff had previously tested positive for coronavirus ) .
North American movie theaters shut down or begin “ social distancing ” measures : On March 13 , a number of theaters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and the Canadian chain Cineplex , announced that they would be reducing the number of tickets sold to screenings by as much as 50 percent in order to enable patrons to sit further apart as part of “ social distancing ” measures .
On March 15 , theaters in New York and Los Angeles were shut down by order of their respective mayors .
On March 16 , Regal announced it would shut down all of its 543 US theaters indefinitely ; later in the day , AMC followed suit .
New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ March 12 , major cultural sites in New York City began to close , including the Metropolitan Museum of Art .
Other institutions canceled programming for the month of March , such as the New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall .
Within days , the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it anticipated staying closed through July and laying off much of its staff .
On March 19 , the Metropolitan Opera laid off all of its union employees , including musicians and chorus .
Broadway shows closed : On March 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced that beginning at 5:00 pm , Broadway would be closed , part of a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people .
West End closes : On March 16 , London ’ s West End shut down , following Prime Minister Boris Johnson ’ s speech urging Britons to avoid public spaces .
The theaters , including the Royal Opera House , will stay closed indefinitely .
Italian cultural sites closed : In February , a number of major museums in Venice , Milan , Turin , and other northern Italian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government ’ s aggressive attempt to contain the virus , and annual Carnivale celebrations stopped early .
By early March , with the country under complete lockdown , cultural sites across Italy were closed , including the Colosseum and Pompeii .
Chinese movie theaters shut down for months , tentatively begin to reopen , then re-close : Hoping to contain the coronavirus outbreak , on January 23 the Chinese government temporarily shut down movie theaters throughout the country until further notice .
A total film production shutdown soon followed .
Loss of revenue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ late January , during which movie theaters typically see an uptick in ticket sales , amounted to a staggering $ 1 billion , according to analysts .
By March 23 , about 500 cinemas had reopened in China , roughly 5 percent of the cinemas in the country that were open before the outbreak .
Variety reported that box office earnings remained minimal .
But by March 27 , they were closed again .
Chinese cultural attractions closed : Other cultural attractions and institutions in China that have been closed to the public @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of China , the Forbidden City , and a section of the Great Wall of China located near Beijing .
We will continue to update this article as the story develops .

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic, which was first identified in China in December, has had sweeping effects in the public health, business, and travel sectors, among others. And while the repercussions for the entertainment industry may seem to pale in comparison to the clear threat the virus poses to human life, the ripple effects do have implications for the people around the world who make a living producing and distributing movies, music, and more.
The immense and lucrative Chinese film industry was hit almost immediately as movie theaters across the country were closed and major releases were delayed. Hollywood soon began to feel the effects, too, and as time passes, the impacts of the coronavirus on the global film and entertainment industries continue to be vast.
Consequences of the pandemic on these industries could range from lowered attendance at film festivals and disruptions in film distribution to delayed or canceled movie releases and concert dates to curtailed on-location film shoots. Financial ramifications will likely be felt by studios, filmmakers, theater owners, and more for months or even years.
Here are the biggest and most significant developments in the entertainment industry in response to the pandemic. Most recently, Disney announced more delays to several of its biggest films slated for 2020, including West Side Story and Black Widow.
Major entertainment festival cancellations and postponements
K-pop concerts canceled, including BTS shows: On February 28, the hugely popular K-pop group BTS canceled a series of concerts in Seoul. The shows were scheduled for April 11 and 12 and April 18 and 19 at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. The group’s management agency said the decision was made due to the impossibility of predicting the scale of the outbreak in South Korea come April and cited the health and safety of the musicians themselves, workers, and concertgoers. Two hundred thousand fans were expected to attend.
Days earlier, BTS had asked fans to avoid a series of TV appearances scheduled to promote their newest album, Map of the Soul: 7, which had originally been planned to include studio audiences. The group also appealed to fans via a streamed press conference. “Health is always on our minds these days, and our messages of facing your inner self and loving yourself are ultimately only possible when you’re healthy, especially since it is very risky outside these days,” one of the singers, Jimin, said. ”I hope you take care of yourself.”
The entire Korean entertainment sector has been affected by the outbreak, and K-pop has been hit particularly hard, with groups including GOT7, Winner, Sechs Kies, (G) I-DLE, and others canceling scheduled tour dates. Variety reported that box office revenue in South Korea was down 30 to 40 percent in January 2020 compared to previous years.
SXSW canceled: On March 6, the city of Austin, Texas, declared a state of disaster, requiring the cancellation of public gatherings and events for the near future. The most notable of those is the cancellation of South by Southwest, the annual music, film, TV, and technology festival that serves as a significant financial powerhouse for the city.
The announcement came after a week full of major companies — including Netflix, Apple, Amazon, WarnerMedia, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Mashable, Intel, and more — dropping out of the well-attended event, canceling panels, premieres, and other appearances. Days later, SXSW organizers announced that they had laid off one-third of the festival’s employees in what they called “a necessary, but heartbreaking, step.”
Emerald City Comic Con delayed: The organizing body behind Emerald City Comic Con, the largest convention of its kind in Seattle, Washington, announced on March 6 that it will postpone the event until sometime this summer. The event was scheduled to run from March 12 to 16.
“We did everything that we could to run the event as planned, but ultimately, we are following the guidance of the local public health officials indicating that conventions should now be postponed,” convention organizers Reedpop said in a statement published on the Emerald City Comic Con website.
Cannes Film Festival delayed: Initially, the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, arguably the most prestigious film festival in the world, was left in limbo following an announcement from the festival’s organizers on March 19 that the gathering could be delayed until “late June or early July,” or another time. (The festival had been slated to take place May 12 to 23 and draws thousands of industries and press from around the globe each year.) The festival first issued a statement on February 28 after the first case of coronavirus in nearby Nice, France, was confirmed by the city’s mayor, saying that organizers were monitoring the situation but planned for the festival to go forward. (Cannes is a seaside resort town located on the French Riviera, about 30 km from Nice.)
By late spring, the organizers announced that the 2020 edition would be canceled. All films that would have played in the official and sidebar programs at the festival will bear the official Cannes seal when released in theaters or potentially at partner festivals in the fall, such as those that take place in Venice and Toronto. They announced these selections on June 3.
Coachella delayed, then canceled: Goldenvoice, the organizers of Coachella — one of the largest annual music festivals in the US — announced on March 10 that the festival would be postponed due to concerns about Covid-19. Another Goldenvoice festival, the country-music-oriented Stagecoach, was also delayed.
The Indio, California-based event was originally set to run for two weekends (April 10-12 and April 17-19), with the same talent lineup performing both weekends. The postponement moved Coachella to October 9-11 and October 16-18; Stagecoach 2020 was pushed back from April to October 23-25.
But on June 10, both events were canceled by an order from the public health officer of Riverside County, California.
Electronics Entertainment Expo (E3) canceled: The 2020 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) — the single biggest trade show in the video game industry — has been canceled. The Entertainment Software Association, which organizes the event, announced that it would not go forward with the annual event due to coronavirus fears in California, where E3 takes place. The event was scheduled for June 9 to 11.
The organization said it will contact exhibitors and attendees about receiving full refunds for passes, and that it is considering ways to “coordinate an online experience” in lieu of the in-person event. It also maintains that E3 will return next year as planned.
The NBA suspended basketball games: A player on the Utah Jazz tested positive for coronavirus on March 11, leading NBA officials to call off that night’s Jazz game just before tip-off. As a further precautionary measure, the league issued a statement that it would suspend the basketball season “until further notice.”
Prior to putting an early pause on the rest of the season, the NBA made other efforts to protect players and fans. The league barred media from locker rooms and publicly considered having teams play to empty arenas before ultimately stopping play altogether.
Games resumed on July 30.
2020 Tokyo Olympics delayed: On March 24, following pressure from athletes and multiple nations’ Olympic committees, the International Olympic Committee and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe announced that the 2020 Summer Olympics would be postponed, possibly until 2021; on March 30, the dates were set for July 23-August 8, 2021.
San Diego Comic-Con 2020 canceled: On April 17, the organizers of San Diego Comic-Con announced that the yearly fan convention will not go on as planned in 2020. The event will resume once again in July 2021 at the San Diego Convention Center. The cancellation marks the first time in Comic-Con’s 50-year history that the event, the largest convention of its kind in the US, will not take place.
Major film release dates postponed or canceled
Warner Bros. changes release plans: On April 20, Warner Bros. announced changes to its slate. The Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, shifted from a release date of June 25, 2021, to October 1, 2021. The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel to The Sopranos, was delayed from September 25, 2020, to March 12, 2021. King Richard, a biopic about Venus and Serena Williams’ father starring Will Smith, shifted from November 25, 2020, to November 19, 2021. An untitled Elvis movie moved from October 1, 2021 to November 5, 2021.
Two DC titles also shifted dates: Shazam! 2 is delayed from April 1, 2022 to November 4, 2022, and The Flash moved from July 1, 2022, to June 3, 2022.
On April 21, the studio announced that the big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, originally set for June 26, 2020, would move to June 18, 2021, because of pandemic-related post-production delays. Malignant, a thriller from Aquaman director James Wan that had originally been scheduled for August 14 was pulled from the release schedule.
On June 12, the studio announced that Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, previously slated for release on July 17, would move to July 31. Wonder Woman 1984, which was set for August 14, moved to October 2. (Wonder Woman 1984 previously shifted from June to August.)
On July 20, with case numbers rising around the US and most theaters remaining closed, Warner Bros. announced that Tenet’s release would be delayed indefinitely. A week later, the studio announced that the film would be released on a staggered schedule: on August 26 in 70 international territories and then in select US theaters beginning September 3.
On September 11, the studio announced that it had delayed Wonder Woman 1984 again, reportedly until Christmas.
Related Wonder Woman 1984 has been postponed until August 14
Newest Pixar film delayed: On April 13, Disney announced that Pixar’s latest release, Soul, would open on November 20, 2020. The film was previously set to open on June 19.
Disney makes sweeping changes to release calendar: On April 3, Disney made huge changes to its release calendar, setting dates for movies it had previously pulled without a date and moving others. Mulan was set to open on July 24, 2020, while Jungle Cruise, which had been set to release that day, moved to July 30, 2021. An untitled Indiana Jones film moved from July 9, 2021, to July 29, 2022.
Changes in the MCU calendar also set off a domino effect. Black Widow was newly set for November 6, 2020, while the previous release on that date, Shang-Chi, shifted to May 7, 2021. Originally, Doctor Strange 2 was set to release on that date; it’s now set to open November 5, 2021, displacing Thor: Love and Thunder until February 28, 2022. Black Panther 2 is still currently set for May 6, 2022, and Captain Marvel 2 moved from July 22 to July 8, 2022.
Disney also owns 20th Century Films and Searchlight Films, which had a number of changes. The Ryan Reynolds film Free Guy moved from July 3 to December 11, 2020. West Side Story is still set for December 18 and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel for Christmas Day.
On July 23, however, Disney announced a series of sweeping scheduling changes once again. Mulan was pulled off the release calendar, indefinitely delaying its debut. Disney also took Wes Anderson’s newest film, The French Dispatch, off the calendar indefinitely, after it had initially moved from July 24 to October 16, 2020. Disney moved its upcoming trio of Star Wars movies forward by one year; they’re now slated to release in 2023, 2025, and 2027. And James Cameron’s Avatar sequels were moved back by a year as well, with the first set to premiere in December 2022.
The August 28 date for Disney’s The New Mutants remains August 28, for now; it was originally slated for April 3. And a release date for The Woman in the Window (originally slated for May 15) has not been set yet.
On August 4, Disney announced that Mulan would be released on its Disney+ streaming service. Subscribers will pay an additional $29.99 to rent the movie, available September 4. In territories where Disney+ is not available, Mulan will open in theaters that same day. (Notably, Disney+ is not available in China.)
On September 23, Disney announced more sweeping changes to its release schedule. Black Widow, originally set for November 6, is now slated to open on May 7, 2021. That delay shifted release dates for several other movies in the MCU, including Eternals (from February 12, 2021, to November 5, 2021) and Shang-Chi (from May 7, 2021, to July 9, 2021).
West Side Story, which had been set to release in the prime awards-season slot of December 18, 2020, will now open a full year later on December 10, 2021. The King’s Man — which had initially been set to open in September 2020, then delayed into 2021 — now has a release date of February 16, 2021. And Deep Water, starring Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas, moved from November 13, 2020, to August 13, 2021.
A number of Disney’s films — among them Soul, the latest from Pixar — are still set for 2020 release. Soul has retained its November 20 date, at least for now. Death on the Nile shifted from October 23 to December 18. And the horror film The Empty Man is now set to open on October 23 rather than December 4.
Sony delays nearly all its movies until 2021: On March 30, Sony announced that nearly all of its summer tentpole films would be delayed until late 2020 or early 2021. Delayed movies include Kevin Hart’s Fatherhood, Jared Leto’s Morbius, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Uncharted, and the previously delayed Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. The only film that appeared unaffected was the Spider-Man: Far From Home sequel, which is still set for theatrical release on July 16, 2020.
NBCUniversal to release major films digitally: In an unprecedented move, NBCUniversal announced on March 16 that it would make some movies available digitally the same day they are released in movie theaters that remain open, including Trolls World Tour, which is set to hit theaters on April 10. Movies currently in theatrical release will also be available on-demand, including The Hunt, The Invisible Man, and Emma. Movies are available for a 48-hour rental period for $19.99 in the US and an equivalent price abroad.
No Time to Die: On February 16, MGM announced that it would cancel the Chinese premiere and publicity tour planned for the new James Bond movie, No Time To Die, which was scheduled for April. On March 4, the studio announced that it had delayed the film’s release until November 25, making the film the first major tentpole release to be delayed worldwide. The film’s release date moved again on June 12, from November 25 to November 20.
Paramount changes release dates: On March 12, John Krasinski, director of Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II, announced via Twitter that the movie’s March 19 release date would be delayed. “One of the things I’m most proud of is that people have said our movie is one you have to see all together. Well due to the ever-changing circumstances of what’s going on in the world around us, now is clearly not the right time to do that,” he wrote. “As insanely excited as we are for all of you to see this movie ... I’m gonna wait to release the film till we CAN see it all together! So here’s to our group movie date! See you soon!”
On July 23, Paramount announced that the Quiet Place sequel would be pushed to April 23, 2021. Top Gun Maverick was also delayed from December 23, 2020 to July 2, 2021. And that bumped Jackass, previously scheduled for July 2, 2021, to September 3, 2021.
Fast and Furious 9: On March 12, Universal Pictures announced that it would delay the release date of the ninth installment in the Fast and Furious franchise by 11 months, from May 22 to April 2, 2021.
Chinese movies scrapped theatrical release and premiere online: The biggest films of China’s year are usually scheduled to release during the Lunar New Year holiday, near the end of January, but mounting fears of the coronavirus and public reticence to be in crowded spaces caused distributors to voluntarily cancel or postpone several film releases. Huanxi, distributor of the Chinese blockbuster Lost in Russia, announced on January 22 that the film would premiere online for free. Promotional materials encouraged audiences to “stay safely at home and watch Lost in Russia with your mom.” On January 31, Enter the Fat Dragon became the second major Chinese film to premiere online, as theaters are closed by order of the government.
Film and TV productions halted, altered, or shut down
Saturday Night Live aired remotely produced content: On April 9, the producers of Saturday Night Live, which had been on hiatus since mid-March, announced that new, remotely produced material would air on NBC in the show’s usual Saturday night slot, 11:30 pm on April 11, including a “Weekend Update” segment.
The coronavirus has touched Saturday Night Live in at least two ways. The show’s long-time music supervisor, Hal Willner, passed away on April 7 at the age of 64; he was not formally diagnosed with the virus but had consistent symptoms. And Michael Che, one of the show’s co-head writers and co-anchor with Colin Jost of “Weekend Update,” announced via social media on April 6 that his grandmother had passed away from coronavirus complications.
The show joined other late-night comedy shows, such as NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers, CBS’s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Comedy Central’s The Daily Show, in creating comedy content remotely.
Eurovision canceled: On March 18, the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest announced via Twitter that the 2020 edition of the event was canceled. The event had been planned for May.
TV shows suspend production: Hundreds of shows have delayed or suspended production, including Apple’s The Morning Show and Little America; Netflix shows including Russian Doll; the CW’s Riverdale; NBC shows including the Chicago dramas and The Kelly Clarkson Show; CBS shows including the NCIS dramas, The Amazing Race, and Survivor; and many more.
Late-night shows suspend production or tape without a studio audience: Originally, on March 11, producers of shows including NBC’s The Tonight Show (hosted by Jimmy Fallon) and Late Night With Seth Meyers, CBS’s Late Show With Stephen Colbert, TBS’s Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, and Comedy Central’s Daily Show (hosted by Trevor Noah) all announced they would begin taping without a live studio audience on March 16.
A day later, NBC announced that The Tonight Show and Late Night would suspend production beginning the week of March 16; Stephen Colbert also announced that the Late Show would suspend production. All three shows were already scheduled to go into hiatus on March 23. On March 13, Jimmy Kimmel Live also suspended production. Most shows eventually began producing remotely, often with hosts and guests working from home studios.
Disney suspends live-action production: On March 13, Disney announced that production on its live-action movies would suspend production. Affected films include The Little Mermaid, a Home Alone reboot, and Peter Pan. Earlier in the day, production on Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings had been suspended due to director Destin Daniel Cretton’s decision to self-isolate upon advice of a doctor. (Marvel is owned by Disney.)
Jia Zhangke project delayed: At the Berlin Film Festival in February, famed Chinese director Jia Zhangke (Ash Is Purest White, A Touch of Sin) told Indiewire that production on his new film, which was slated to begin in April, was delayed indefinitely. Jia spoke with Indiewire at the Berlin Film Festival, where his documentary Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue premiered. But he said that before he left, he’d feared his flight to Berlin would be canceled, and that some of his collaborators chose not to make the trip. Regarding his next film, he said:
For some film companies and studios involved in pre-production, a lot of costs are going down the drain, and those that already started production have to be somehow cut short or suspended. Some of them are already in the process of distributing films and they’ve paid for a lot of promotion and PR costs. The economy is now taking a huge hit, and I think the investment side will be hugely impacted as well.
Mission: Impossible production paused: On February 26, Paramount Pictures announced that it had halted a planned three-week shoot in Venice for the seventh installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise. “Out of an abundance of caution for the safety and well-being of our cast and crew, and efforts of the local Venetian government to halt public gatherings in response to the threat of coronavirus, we are altering the production plan for our three-week shoot in Venice, the scheduled first leg of an extensive production for Mission: Impossible 7,” a Paramount spokesperson told the Hollywood Reporter. “During this hiatus we want to be mindful of the concerns of the crew and are allowing them to return home until production starts. We will continue to monitor this situation, and work alongside health and government officials as it evolves.”
Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune tape without a studio audience: Though Sony declined to comment, sources told the Hollywood Reporter on March 9 that scheduled tapings of the shows would go forward without a live studio audience. The measure was taken partly as a precaution for the health of Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, who has stage 4 pancreatic cancer.
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson announce they’ve contracted the virus: One of Hollywood’s biggest stars, Tom Hanks, announced that he and his wife Rita Wilson had contracted the coronavirus while shooting Baz Luhrmann’s untitled Elvis Presley film in Australia:
In a message posted publicly on March 11, Hanks was his typical upbeat self:
Well, now. What to do next? The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed. We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We’ll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves!
Entertainment venues and attractions shut down
All Disney parks shut down: On January 25, Disney shut down its Shanghai Disneyland park over fears of the coronavirus. The park is a major revenue generator, with 11.8 million guests in 2018, 50 percent from outside the Shanghai region, and an estimated $1 billion in annual revenue and $50 million in operating profit. A day after Shanghai Disneyland’s closure, Hong Kong Disneyland shut down. Both Disney parks in Japan closed on February 29 and Disney announced on March 11 that they will remain closed through at least the end of April.
Late in the day on March 12, Disneyland in California announced it would close the following day; by that evening, the company announced that all of its parks would close, including those in Florida and Disneyland Paris (where three staff had previously tested positive for coronavirus).
In July, Disney World reopened amid a spike in Florida coronavirus cases.
North American movie theaters shut down: On March 13, a number of theaters and theater chains, including AMC Theatres, and the Canadian chain Cineplex, announced that they would be reducing the number of tickets sold to screenings by as much as 50 percent in order to enable patrons to sit further apart as part of “social distancing” measures.
On March 15, theaters in New York and Los Angeles were shut down by order of their respective mayors. On March 16, Regal announced it would shut down all of its 543 US theaters indefinitely; later in the day, AMC followed suit.
New York City cultural sites closed: On March 12, major cultural sites in New York City began to close, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Other institutions canceled programming for the month of March, such as the New York Public Library and Carnegie Hall.
Within days, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that it anticipated staying closed through July and laying off much of its staff. On March 19, the Metropolitan Opera laid off all of its union employees, including musicians and chorus.
Broadway shows closed: On March 12, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that beginning at 5:00 pm, Broadway would be closed, part of a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people. On April 8, the Broadway League announced that theaters would remain closed through June, and probably longer. On June 29, the League extended the shutdown through January 3, 2021.
West End closes: On March 16, London’s West End shut down, following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech urging Britons to avoid public spaces. The theaters, including the Royal Opera House, will stay closed indefinitely. As of June, the West End closures remained in effect through at least August 2.
Italian cultural sites closed: In February, a number of major museums in Venice, Milan, Turin, and other northern Italian cities were closed as part of the government’s aggressive attempt to contain the virus, and annual Carnivale celebrations stopped early. By early March, with the country under complete lockdown, cultural sites across Italy were closed, including the Colosseum and Pompeii.
Chinese movie theaters shut down for months, tentatively begin to reopen, then re-close: Hoping to contain the coronavirus outbreak, on January 23 the Chinese government temporarily shut down movie theaters throughout the country until further notice. A total film production shutdown soon followed. Loss of revenue over the Lunar New Year holiday in late January, during which movie theaters typically see an uptick in ticket sales, amounted to a staggering $1 billion, according to analysts.
By March 23, about 500 cinemas had reopened in China, roughly 5 percent of the cinemas in the country that were open before the outbreak. Variety reported that box office earnings remained minimal. But by March 27, they were closed again. Some Chinese movie theaters began to open in late July.
We will continue to update this article as the story develops.


vox--2020-03-31--Governors plead with other states for more health care workers to fight coronavirus

Governors in several of the hardest-hit states put out calls on Monday for health care workers from other states to help treat patients suffering from Covid-19 , the disease caused by the novel coronavirus .
In perhaps the most striking example , Michigan Gov .
Gretchen Whitmer posted a video to Twitter on Monday , saying , “ If you ’ re a health professional anywhere in America , Michigan needs you .
We ’ re calling on doctors , and nurses , and respiratory therapists , and other health professionals to sign up and help us fight Covid-19 and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ while announcing that the state had relaxed interstate medical licensing requirements to make it easier for personnel from other states to assist with Michigan ’ s burgeoning outbreak .
Joining Whitmer was New York Gov .
Andrew Cuomo , who implored out-of-state doctors and nurses to come help treat patients with Covid-19 , especially those in New York City , which has become the nationwide epicenter of the pandemic .
“ Help New York .
We are the ones who are hit now , ” Cuomo said Monday at a press conference at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been converted into a temporary hospital .
As of March 30 , over 7,700 people in New York City alone have been hospitalized with Covid-19 .
A temporary field hospital has been constructed in Central Park as area hospitals are overrun with coronavirus patients .
While New York and Michigan have been among the hardest hit , confirmed cases of Covid-19 have now been found in all 50 states .
That — plus the fact that the US was already facing a shortage of health care professionals before the crisis started — @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to assist in areas with high infection rates .
There are a couple of reasons the US health care system is running short on professionals to treat Covid-19 , the influx of patients being most obvious .
Compounding that is a shortage of personal protective equipment ( PPE ) .
Doctors and nurses in areas dealing with widespread infections are in near-constant contact with the virus ; without appropriate PPE , they ’ re at increased risk for contracting it .
In Spain , about 14 percent of those infected were doctors or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in every 10 people infected were medical professionals .
This puts a strain on hospital staffing in areas like New York City .
Most states have put orders in place to stop non-essential surgeries and are encouraging telemedicine for as many non-Covid-19 afflictions as possible in order to preserve PPE and free up personnel to treat coronavirus patients .
But as Vox ’ s Dylan Scott , Umair Irfan , and Jen Kirby explained , the US was already facing a critical shortage of medical personnel before the coronavirus pandemic hit its shores @ @ @ @ @ @ @ staffing crisis : Overall , US hospitals employ as many people or more per capita as our economic peers .
But staffing is disproportionately tilted toward administrative work in the United States .
If you focus on health care professionals specifically , US hospitals trail behind most European countries and Canada .
Our hospitals employ almost as many administrative staff as medical staff , according to estimates from the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker .
And US hospitals were already at risk of being overrun if the number of Covid-19 cases explodes before fears @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America has about 924,000 hospital beds , about 98,000 of which can be used for people who need intensive care , according to the American Hospital Association .
The number of Covid-19 cases that will require ICU care could expand far beyond what the US is currently capable of providing .
As officials in New York and Michigan scramble to fill personnel gaps , there is another potential solution besides borrowing doctors from other states that might need them .
There are other possible solutions for the medical staffing shortage While much of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the country ’ s PPE shortfall , the government has also taken steps toward easing the personnel shortages in the hardest-hit areas .
On March 18 , Vice President Mike Pence announced a new Department of Health and Human Services regulation allowing doctors to practice medicine across state lines .
In response to the recent critical shortage , Cuomo also put out a call for retired health workers to return and care for Covid-19 patients .
About 40,000 responded as of March 25 , according to Wall Street Journal reporter Jimmy Vielkind .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ students to jump directly into the workforce to assist with pandemic care , provided they can get the proper certifications .
Other countries have turned to foreign health workers to find enough medical staff to manage the pandemic .
In the United Kingdom , the government recently announced it would automatically extend visas for foreign health workers already working in the country , a significant decision as the country finalizes Brexit to further limit immigration .
Additionally , Chinese , Russian , and Cuban doctors have flown to Italy to help handle the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the US is unlikely to see a similar rush of foreign health workers without significant changes to current immigration law .
Foreign doctors and nurses face a nearly impossible maze of immigration hurdles to practice in the US , as Vox ’ s Nicole Narea explained : Every year , roughly 4,000 foreign doctors come to the US on J-1 visas for residencies at teaching hospitals , which rely on Medicare funding to pay their salaries .
While most of those doctors would like to stay in the country after they complete their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are ultimately able to do so , [ Greg Siskind , an immigration attorney who represents doctors ] said .
That ’ s because they are required to return to their home countries for at least two years upon completing their training in order to be eligible for an H-1B skilled worker visa or a green card , unless they can obtain one of a few sought-after waivers .
The Conrad 30 program , for example , offers waivers to 30 doctors in every state who agree to practice where the government has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mostly in rural areas .
Doctors can also obtain waivers through the Department of Health and Human Services by conducting medical research in [ a ] field that is of interest to the agency or by practicing in underserved areas designated by the agency .
But even for those who are able to obtain waivers , the process of applying for a green card can involve long waits , particularly for immigrants from India , which produces about a third of all foreign doctors training in the US .
That ’ s because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of green cards issued annually , and India gets the same number of green cards as any other country despite being among the most populous nations in the world .
( A bill that would have eliminated these country caps recently failed in the Senate . )
“ Indian doctors are looking at a 20-year wait for a green card , ” Siskind said .
“ When these Indian doctors are finishing up their training in the US , they ’ re seeing that they can get a green card in Australia , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fast-track to citizenship .
It ’ s a mess.
” Not only does the current system make it exceedingly difficult for doctors to stay in the US long-term , but it also severely restricts where in the US they can go .
Under the terms of both J-1 and H-1B visas , doctors can ’ t just change jobs .
They usually can ’ t even moonlight at another hospital and take on extra hours .
At a time when doctors need flexibility to go to areas of the country that are hard-hit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ huge obstacle .
Most nurses come to the US on green cards , but they , too , face long wait times due to the same backlogs that are hurting Indian doctors .
Many of them also come from India , as well as the Philippines , where they get the ... same kind of training that they would in the US .

Governors in several of the hardest-hit states put out calls on Monday for health care workers from other states to help treat patients suffering from Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
In perhaps the most striking example, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posted a video to Twitter on Monday, saying, “If you’re a health professional anywhere in America, Michigan needs you. We’re calling on doctors, and nurses, and respiratory therapists, and other health professionals to sign up and help us fight Covid-19 and save lives,” she said, while announcing that the state had relaxed interstate medical licensing requirements to make it easier for personnel from other states to assist with Michigan’s burgeoning outbreak.
If you’re a medical professional anywhere in the United States, Michigan needs you. Please visit https://t.co/WZ51AQdAZw to volunteer to help the residents of our state fight #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/Nl7Gp9uls4 — Governor Gretchen Whitmer (@GovWhitmer) March 31, 2020
Joining Whitmer was New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who implored out-of-state doctors and nurses to come help treat patients with Covid-19, especially those in New York City, which has become the nationwide epicenter of the pandemic. “Help New York. We are the ones who are hit now,” Cuomo said Monday at a press conference at the Jacob K. Javits Center, which has been converted into a temporary hospital.
As of March 30, over 7,700 people in New York City alone have been hospitalized with Covid-19. A temporary field hospital has been constructed in Central Park as area hospitals are overrun with coronavirus patients.
While New York and Michigan have been among the hardest hit, confirmed cases of Covid-19 have now been found in all 50 states. That — plus the fact that the US was already facing a shortage of health care professionals before the crisis started — could limit the number of personnel available to assist in areas with high infection rates.
The health care personnel shortage, briefly explained
There are a couple of reasons the US health care system is running short on professionals to treat Covid-19, the influx of patients being most obvious.
Compounding that is a shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). Doctors and nurses in areas dealing with widespread infections are in near-constant contact with the virus; without appropriate PPE, they’re at increased risk for contracting it. In Spain, about 14 percent of those infected were doctors or nurses; in Italy, nearly one in every 10 people infected were medical professionals.
This puts a strain on hospital staffing in areas like New York City. Most states have put orders in place to stop non-essential surgeries and are encouraging telemedicine for as many non-Covid-19 afflictions as possible in order to preserve PPE and free up personnel to treat coronavirus patients.
But as Vox’s Dylan Scott, Umair Irfan, and Jen Kirby explained, the US was already facing a critical shortage of medical personnel before the coronavirus pandemic hit its shores. The pandemic has only deepened the staffing crisis:
Overall, US hospitals employ as many people or more per capita as our economic peers. But staffing is disproportionately tilted toward administrative work in the United States. If you focus on health care professionals specifically, US hospitals trail behind most European countries and Canada. Our hospitals employ almost as many administrative staff as medical staff, according to estimates from the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker. And US hospitals were already at risk of being overrun if the number of Covid-19 cases explodes before fears about staffing shortages fully set in. America has about 924,000 hospital beds, about 98,000 of which can be used for people who need intensive care, according to the American Hospital Association. The number of Covid-19 cases that will require ICU care could expand far beyond what the US is currently capable of providing.
As officials in New York and Michigan scramble to fill personnel gaps, there is another potential solution besides borrowing doctors from other states that might need them.
There are other possible solutions for the medical staffing shortage
While much of the federal response has focused on managing the country’s PPE shortfall, the government has also taken steps toward easing the personnel shortages in the hardest-hit areas. On March 18, Vice President Mike Pence announced a new Department of Health and Human Services regulation allowing doctors to practice medicine across state lines.
In response to the recent critical shortage, Cuomo also put out a call for retired health workers to return and care for Covid-19 patients. About 40,000 responded as of March 25, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Jimmy Vielkind. The state also allowed medical and nursing students to jump directly into the workforce to assist with pandemic care, provided they can get the proper certifications.
Other countries have turned to foreign health workers to find enough medical staff to manage the pandemic.
In the United Kingdom, the government recently announced it would automatically extend visas for foreign health workers already working in the country, a significant decision as the country finalizes Brexit to further limit immigration.
Additionally, Chinese, Russian, and Cuban doctors have flown to Italy to help handle the country’s coronavirus emergency. But the US is unlikely to see a similar rush of foreign health workers without significant changes to current immigration law.
Foreign doctors and nurses face a nearly impossible maze of immigration hurdles to practice in the US, as Vox’s Nicole Narea explained:


vox--2020-03-31--Trump isn’t making America’s ventilator shortage any easier

The United States is facing a daunting shortage of lifesaving ventilators due to the coronavirus pandemic .
And President Trump isn ’ t making things any easier .
In late March , the president issued a series of conflicting and misleading statements about the country ’ s ventilator supply and his plans to increase it .
In an attempt to transfer blame for the shortage , Trump has done everything from accusing hospitals of hoarding ventilators to suggesting that the US doesn ’ t even need more of them .
Despite the disorder in the Trump administration , ventilator companies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an effort to produce thousands more than would otherwise be possible .
There ’ s even a crowdsourced effort to make functional ventilators out of readily available parts .
But it ’ s not certain that anyone will produce enough ventilators or make them soon enough to fill the demand in time .
General Motors ( GM ) has teamed up with Ventec Life Systems , a Washington state-based company that makes ventilators , to try to scale up its capacity using GM factories and increasing the supply chain for ventilator parts .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , uncertainty from the federal government and a series of attacks from Trump have hampered those efforts .
Last week , President Trump expressed doubt about the need for ventilators and used the issue to attack Democratic state governors , including New York ’ s Andrew Cuomo .
The president ’ s controversial statements about ventilators follow several weeks of urgent debate about the global shortage of these lifesaving machines in the face of a disease that attacks the lungs .
Because of this , some companies that make other products have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by using their factories to make ventilators .
The White House was set to announce a deal with Ventec and GM on March 25 , according to the New York Times .
The car company would produce Ventec ventilator systems in one of its factories , throwing its manufacturing might behind addressing the nation ’ s shortage .
But that announcement was put on hold once the Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) learned it would cost more than $ 1 billion , with both the number of ventilators the joint venture @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ventilators that will be needed still unknown .
Most medical experts agree we will need more ventilators than we currently have — any additions to the supply could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of Americans — but according to the Times , some government officials were afraid of being left with an “ expensive surplus ” of the machines if they bought too many .
On March 27 , President Trump blamed GM for the holdup , saying the company initially claimed it could produce 40,000 ventilators but had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which would take at least a month .
He also implied that cost was , indeed , an issue .
Trump ’ s tweet followed an interview with Sean Hannity , during which the president downplayed the need for more ventilators , even as many public health experts and governors have expressed an urgent need for them .
Gov .
Cuomo said on March 24 that New York , the current epicenter of the outbreak in the US , needs 30,000 ventilators in the next two weeks as the coronavirus outbreak reaches @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they ’ re going to be .
I don ’ t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators , ” Trump said , doubting Cuomo .
“ You go into major hospitals sometimes , and they ’ ll have two ventilators .
And now all of a sudden they ’ re saying , ‘ Can we order 30,000 ventilators ?
’ ” Hours after his March 27 tweets about GM , Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Production Act ( DPA ) to force GM to carry out federal contracts to make ventilators and give those contracts priority over any other orders .
He also lashed out at Ford , telling the car company to “ GET GOING ON VENTILATORS , FAST !
!
!
!
!
!
” Ford ’ s vice president of communications tweeted a statement saying the company has been working “ flat-out ” to produce ventilators with GE Healthcare .
Trump was more conciliatory toward GM a couple days later , saying it was doing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president also accused states of requesting ventilators they didn ’ t need , and hospitals of “ hoarding ” them — refusing to lend them to other hospitals that needed them more .
He did not provide any evidence to back up those claims .
The DPA is only effective when orders are placed .
According to the New York Times , the federal government hasn ’ t told Ventec/GM how many ventilators it wants nor how much it wants to pay for them .
Executives at Ventec and GM , which spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working through the logistics of producing ventilators in a car factory and getting the needed parts and equipment to do so , were reportedly “ stunned ” by Trump ’ s attack .
In the absence of federal government orders , the joint effort is still working toward producing ventilators , because it knows there will be customers around the world for them .
Ventec and GM issued a joint press release on Friday saying they plan to ship ventilators “ as soon as next month ” — presumably , April — and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a manufacturing capacity of more than 10,000 ventilators per month .
While this may make more ventilators available sooner , it still doesn ’ t guarantee that America will have enough ventilators by the time patients across the country need them .
Ventilators , simply put , are machines that help people breathe when they can ’ t breathe on their own .
Air is delivered through a tube in the patient ’ s windpipe into the lungs , mimicking the way we breathe naturally .
Covid-19 , the disease caused by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and can cause complications like pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome .
Severe cases will require a ventilator to be able to deliver enough oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body .
Without one , the patient could die .
A ventilator shortage , then , will mean some patients are denied lifesaving care .
And , as has already happened in Italy , doctors may have to choose which patients get ventilators , and therefore live , and which ones don ’ t and die .
Hospitals in America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : A draft letter from Michigan ’ s Henry Ford Health System leaked on social media last week outlined Henry Ford ’ s possible policy if it has to choose which of its patients get ventilators in the case of a shortage — and which ones don ’ t .
Henry Ford said the letter was not yet an active policy .
According to the New York Times , there are about 170,000 ventilators in the US while the American Hospital Association estimates 960,000 people will need them over the course of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experts continue to recommend that people do whatever they can to slow the spread of the virus so that not all patients need ventilators at the same time .
“ In a worst-case scenario , in which there is an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases , the need for ventilators could greatly outstrip the number available , ” Dr. Tom Frieden , former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) and current CEO and president of Resolve to Save Lives , told Recode .
There are some simple @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a shortage .
In normal circumstances , 170,000 ventilators are more than enough for the ICUs and operating rooms that use them .
In fact , some of the ventilators we do have are in storage , showing that there isn ’ t — at least , there wasn ’ t — a pressing need for them .
Meanwhile , hospitals aren ’ t in the habit of buying extra equipment they don ’ t need .
They typically can ’ t afford to do so .
Even if they could buy them @ @ @ @ @ @ @ orders .
Eric Gjerde , chief executive of a small ventilator company called Airon Corporation , told Wired that his company sells 50 ventilators “ in a good month.
” Now , he ’ s getting orders for thousands and isn ’ t able to fulfill them all .
“ Making ventilators is not a trivial process , ” Gjerde said .
“ It ’ s just too dangerous to be thrown into the hands of people who don ’ t know what they ’ re doing.
” Other companies are experiencing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Swiss company told the Wall Street Journal that it is trying to double its ventilator production to 400 units a week , and an Irish company told the paper it is doubling its workforce to try to meet demand .
And then there ’ s Elon Musk .
Never one to pass up proposing tech solutions to well-publicized problems , Musk tweeted on March 19 that his companies , namely Tesla and SpaceX , could also produce ventilators to help fill shortages , adding that they “ are not difficult.
” New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ New York City is buying !
” and would reach out to Musk directly .
No .
There are several factors preventing , say , an electric car factory from instantly switching over to making ventilators .
Musk saying they “ can not be produced instantly ” is an understatement .
In America , ventilators are tightly regulated and must undergo a years-long rigorous testing and approval process for reasons that should be obvious : When you put someone ’ s life in the hands of a machine , you have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ MIT Technology Review explains , there are also supply chain issues with both the materials needed to make these machines and the people who know how to build them , neither of which Tesla or SpaceX factories likely have immediately available .
Matt Callaghan , the co-founder of One Breath , which Tech Review profiled , intended to produce ventilators for countries in the developing world .
He said that the soonest it could even start producing its devices for American hospitals would be nearly a year — and that was a best-case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ us a second-wave solution when you ’ re looking at the current outbreak , ” Callaghan told Tech Review .
Ventilators aren ’ t cheap , either .
At $ 25,000 to $ 50,000 each , according to the Washington Post , they can be less expensive than a Tesla , but they also require skilled people to run them .
All expenses considered , keeping extra ventilators on hand might require an investment that many hospitals can ’ t afford , especially if they may never need them .
In the case @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could buy them instead — other countries ’ governments are doing this — but seems to be just as reluctant to spend money on possibly unnecessary ventilators as hospitals are ( though it does have significantly more funds available to do so ) .
“ Because these are complicated pieces of medical equipment and are built from hundreds of smaller parts produced by companies all over the world — all of which are facing an increase in demand right now — there is no simple way to rapidly increase production , ” Frieden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ requires tubing , oxygen , trained staff , and many other materials.
” That said , it ’ s not out of the realm of possibility that Tesla or Musk could , at some point , produce ventilators .
Musk is in talks with Medtronic to produce its ventilators in one of its solar panel factories , GM has its agreement with Ventec , and Ford is working with GE Healthcare .
In the United Kingdom , which only has 5,000 ventilators , vacuum cleaner kingpin Dyson — a company that does specialize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ air — designed its own ventilator .
The UK ’ s National Health Service has already ordered 10,000 of them , but they have yet to be produced beyond the prototype stage , nor have they been approved by UK regulators — a process that would normally take two to three years there but will presumably be sped up in this case .
The pandemic has also loosened FDA restrictions , with the agency releasing new guidance at the end of March that would allow companies to alter certain parts , materials , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the availability of supplies and the manufacturing capacity — for instance , using car factories to make another company ’ s ventilators .
The agency will also allow ventilators and companies not approved by the FDA to provide ventilators through the agency ’ s Emergency Use Authorization process .
But how many ventilators these efforts may produce and when is still unknown .
Part of the reason why FEMA balked at ordering ventilators from GM/Ventec , the Times said ( and Trump seemed to confirm this in a subsequent tweet ) was that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could produce for that money steadily shrank — from an initial run of 20,000 down to 7,500 , or even 5,000 .
This was due , in part , to the White House ’ s inability to nail down the number of ventilators it wants , but it was also , the Times said , “ an apparent recognition that auto transmissions and ventilators had very little in common.
” But that doesn ’ t mean they shouldn ’ t try .
“ Anything industry can do to help us accelerate production of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
The good news is that America doesn ’ t have a shortage yet .
While many predictions say we will run out of this lifesaving equipment at some point , the future has yet to be written .
Do your part to flatten the curve and maybe this virus will spread slowly enough that our future won ’ t look like Italy ’ s present .
Update , March 31 , 3:40 pm ET : This post has been updated with new information , including the new FDA guidance on ventilator @ @

The United States is facing a daunting shortage of lifesaving ventilators due to the coronavirus pandemic. And President Trump isn’t making things any easier.
In late March, the president issued a series of conflicting and misleading statements about the country’s ventilator supply and his plans to increase it. In an attempt to transfer blame for the shortage, Trump has done everything from accusing hospitals of hoarding ventilators to suggesting that the US doesn’t even need more of them.
Despite the disorder in the Trump administration, ventilator companies are teaming up with car manufacturers in an effort to produce thousands more than would otherwise be possible. There’s even a crowdsourced effort to make functional ventilators out of readily available parts. But it’s not certain that anyone will produce enough ventilators or make them soon enough to fill the demand in time.
Trump’s attacks on ventilator producers
General Motors (GM) has teamed up with Ventec Life Systems, a Washington state-based company that makes ventilators, to try to scale up its capacity using GM factories and increasing the supply chain for ventilator parts. According to the New York Times, however, uncertainty from the federal government and a series of attacks from Trump have hampered those efforts.
Last week, President Trump expressed doubt about the need for ventilators and used the issue to attack Democratic state governors, including New York’s Andrew Cuomo. The president’s controversial statements about ventilators follow several weeks of urgent debate about the global shortage of these lifesaving machines in the face of a disease that attacks the lungs. Because of this, some companies that make other products have stepped forward to possibly fill the shortage by using their factories to make ventilators.
The White House was set to announce a deal with Ventec and GM on March 25, according to the New York Times. The car company would produce Ventec ventilator systems in one of its factories, throwing its manufacturing might behind addressing the nation’s shortage. But that announcement was put on hold once the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) learned it would cost more than $1 billion, with both the number of ventilators the joint venture could actually produce and the number of ventilators that will be needed still unknown.
Most medical experts agree we will need more ventilators than we currently have — any additions to the supply could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of Americans — but according to the Times, some government officials were afraid of being left with an “expensive surplus” of the machines if they bought too many.
On March 27, President Trump blamed GM for the holdup, saying the company initially claimed it could produce 40,000 ventilators but had to revise those estimates down to 6,000, which would take at least a month. He also implied that cost was, indeed, an issue.
As usual with “this” General Motors, things just never seem to work out. They said they were going to give us 40,000 much needed Ventilators, “very quickly”. Now they are saying it will only be 6000, in late April, and they want top dollar. Always a mess with Mary B. Invoke “P”. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 27, 2020
Trump’s tweet followed an interview with Sean Hannity, during which the president downplayed the need for more ventilators, even as many public health experts and governors have expressed an urgent need for them. Gov. Cuomo said on March 24 that New York, the current epicenter of the outbreak in the US, needs 30,000 ventilators in the next two weeks as the coronavirus outbreak reaches a peak in the state.
“I have a feeling that a lot of the numbers that are being said in some areas are just bigger than they’re going to be. I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators,” Trump said, doubting Cuomo. “You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”
Hours after his March 27 tweets about GM, Trump announced that he was using the Defense Production Act (DPA) to force GM to carry out federal contracts to make ventilators and give those contracts priority over any other orders. He also lashed out at Ford, telling the car company to “GET GOING ON VENTILATORS, FAST!!!!!!” Ford’s vice president of communications tweeted a statement saying the company has been working “flat-out” to produce ventilators with GE Healthcare.
Trump was more conciliatory toward GM a couple days later, saying it was doing a “fantastic job.” But the president also accused states of requesting ventilators they didn’t need, and hospitals of “hoarding” them — refusing to lend them to other hospitals that needed them more. He did not provide any evidence to back up those claims.
The DPA is only effective when orders are placed. According to the New York Times, the federal government hasn’t told Ventec/GM how many ventilators it wants nor how much it wants to pay for them. Executives at Ventec and GM, which spent the week before Trump’s statements working through the logistics of producing ventilators in a car factory and getting the needed parts and equipment to do so, were reportedly “stunned” by Trump’s attack.
In the absence of federal government orders, the joint effort is still working toward producing ventilators, because it knows there will be customers around the world for them. Ventec and GM issued a joint press release on Friday saying they plan to ship ventilators “as soon as next month” — presumably, April — and believe they can “ramp up” to a manufacturing capacity of more than 10,000 ventilators per month.
While this may make more ventilators available sooner, it still doesn’t guarantee that America will have enough ventilators by the time patients across the country need them.
Ventilators, explained
Ventilators, simply put, are machines that help people breathe when they can’t breathe on their own. Air is delivered through a tube in the patient’s windpipe into the lungs, mimicking the way we breathe naturally.
Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, targets the lungs and can cause complications like pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Severe cases will require a ventilator to be able to deliver enough oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. Without one, the patient could die.
A ventilator shortage, then, will mean some patients are denied lifesaving care. And, as has already happened in Italy, doctors may have to choose which patients get ventilators, and therefore live, and which ones don’t and die. Hospitals in America are already preparing for this possible future: A draft letter from Michigan’s Henry Ford Health System leaked on social media last week outlined Henry Ford’s possible policy if it has to choose which of its patients get ventilators in the case of a shortage — and which ones don’t. Henry Ford said the letter was not yet an active policy.
According to the New York Times, there are about 170,000 ventilators in the US while the American Hospital Association estimates 960,000 people will need them over the course of the pandemic — which is why public health experts continue to recommend that people do whatever they can to slow the spread of the virus so that not all patients need ventilators at the same time.
“In a worst-case scenario, in which there is an exponential surge in Covid-19 cases, the need for ventilators could greatly outstrip the number available,” Dr. Tom Frieden, former head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and current CEO and president of Resolve to Save Lives, told Recode.
There are some simple reasons why we might end up with a shortage. In normal circumstances, 170,000 ventilators are more than enough for the ICUs and operating rooms that use them. In fact, some of the ventilators we do have are in storage, showing that there isn’t — at least, there wasn’t — a pressing need for them. Meanwhile, hospitals aren’t in the habit of buying extra equipment they don’t need. They typically can’t afford to do so.
Even if they could buy them, manufacturers are struggling to fill the orders. Eric Gjerde, chief executive of a small ventilator company called Airon Corporation, told Wired that his company sells 50 ventilators “in a good month.” Now, he’s getting orders for thousands and isn’t able to fulfill them all.
“Making ventilators is not a trivial process,” Gjerde said. “It’s just too dangerous to be thrown into the hands of people who don’t know what they’re doing.”
Other companies are experiencing a similar push to increase manufacturing. A Swiss company told the Wall Street Journal that it is trying to double its ventilator production to 400 units a week, and an Irish company told the paper it is doubling its workforce to try to meet demand.
Tesla to the rescue?
And then there’s Elon Musk. Never one to pass up proposing tech solutions to well-publicized problems, Musk tweeted on March 19 that his companies, namely Tesla and SpaceX, could also produce ventilators to help fill shortages, adding that they “are not difficult.” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio eagerly responded that “New York City is buying!” and would reach out to Musk directly.
Simple, right?
No. There are several factors preventing, say, an electric car factory from instantly switching over to making ventilators. Musk saying they “cannot be produced instantly” is an understatement.
In America, ventilators are tightly regulated and must undergo a years-long rigorous testing and approval process for reasons that should be obvious: When you put someone’s life in the hands of a machine, you have to make sure it works. As MIT Technology Review explains, there are also supply chain issues with both the materials needed to make these machines and the people who know how to build them, neither of which Tesla or SpaceX factories likely have immediately available. Matt Callaghan, the co-founder of One Breath, which Tech Review profiled, intended to produce ventilators for countries in the developing world. He said that the soonest it could even start producing its devices for American hospitals would be nearly a year — and that was a best-case scenario.
“[That] makes us a second-wave solution when you’re looking at the current outbreak,” Callaghan told Tech Review.
Ventilators aren’t cheap, either. At $25,000 to $50,000 each, according to the Washington Post, they can be less expensive than a Tesla, but they also require skilled people to run them. All expenses considered, keeping extra ventilators on hand might require an investment that many hospitals can’t afford, especially if they may never need them. In the case of a pandemic, the US government could buy them instead — other countries’ governments are doing this — but seems to be just as reluctant to spend money on possibly unnecessary ventilators as hospitals are (though it does have significantly more funds available to do so).
“Because these are complicated pieces of medical equipment and are built from hundreds of smaller parts produced by companies all over the world — all of which are facing an increase in demand right now — there is no simple way to rapidly increase production,” Frieden said. “Furthermore, operating ventilators requires tubing, oxygen, trained staff, and many other materials.”
That said, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Tesla or Musk could, at some point, produce ventilators. Musk is in talks with Medtronic to produce its ventilators in one of its solar panel factories, GM has its agreement with Ventec, and Ford is working with GE Healthcare. In the United Kingdom, which only has 5,000 ventilators, vacuum cleaner kingpin Dyson — a company that does specialize in machines that regulate the movement of air — designed its own ventilator. The UK’s National Health Service has already ordered 10,000 of them, but they have yet to be produced beyond the prototype stage, nor have they been approved by UK regulators — a process that would normally take two to three years there but will presumably be sped up in this case.
The pandemic has also loosened FDA restrictions, with the agency releasing new guidance at the end of March that would allow companies to alter certain parts, materials, and manufacturing processes in order to increase the availability of supplies and the manufacturing capacity — for instance, using car factories to make another company’s ventilators. The agency will also allow ventilators and companies not approved by the FDA to provide ventilators through the agency’s Emergency Use Authorization process.
But how many ventilators these efforts may produce and when is still unknown. Part of the reason why FEMA balked at ordering ventilators from GM/Ventec, the Times said (and Trump seemed to confirm this in a subsequent tweet) was that the number of ventilators it said it could produce for that money steadily shrank — from an initial run of 20,000 down to 7,500, or even 5,000. This was due, in part, to the White House’s inability to nail down the number of ventilators it wants, but it was also, the Times said, “an apparent recognition that auto transmissions and ventilators had very little in common.”
But that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try.
“Anything industry can do to help us accelerate production of ventilators will be welcome,” Frieden said.
The good news is that America doesn’t have a shortage yet. While many predictions say we will run out of this lifesaving equipment at some point, the future has yet to be written. Do your part to flatten the curve and maybe this virus will spread slowly enough that our future won’t look like Italy’s present.
Update, March 31, 3:40 pm ET: This post has been updated with new information, including the new FDA guidance on ventilator regulations.