LOS ANGELES—The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) has formed a task force to discuss issues related to reopening production and whether COVID-19 testing will be added to the PASS (Performer Availability Screening Services) panel of tests all performers must take in order to work.
“We had our first meeting Thursday and we will meet on an as-needed basis,” FSC executive director Michelle LeBlanc told AVN. “There is a production hold now, but adding COVID-19 testing is something we’re looking at.”
LeBlanc was among a group of talent agents, producers and other industry players who took part Friday morning in a teleconference hosted by Talent Testing Service CEO Sixto Pacheco, who discussed the possibility of providing COVID-19 testing for adult performers.
Pacheco, who was not available for comment, told the teleconference that he proposed COVID-19 testing at Talent Testing Service facilities in Miami, Las Vegas, Northridge and Oakland as part of an initial rollout in two weeks. Testing would cost $35 and be available for all performers requesting them.
But the Free Speech Coalition COVID-19 Task Force has yet to decide whether the testing would be added to the current panel of tests for talent that is part of the PASS system that clears performers to work.
“Testing is not yet an effective measure to determine whether it’s safe to work on set,” LeBlanc said. “Because it only lets you know that a person was positive or negative for coronavirus at the time of the test. They can be exposed to the virus as soon as they leave the testing facility.”
The current standard panel of tests a performer must undergo from a PASS-authorized facility in order to be cleared for work in the PASS database include: HIV using the Aptima HIV-1RNA Qualitative Assay test; chlamydia; gonorrhea; hepatitis B & C; trichomoniasis; and syphilis. Talent Testing Service is one of three companies currently authorized by PASS to administer screening tests for adult talent, alongside Cutting Edge Testing and Adult Industry Testing.
