The next season of Survivor has been postponed due to the novel coronavirus epidemic.
CBS said filming for Survivor‘s Season 41 was scheduled to begin later this month in Fiji, but now production will start on May 19.
Producer and host Jeff Probst wrote a letter to the show’s crew, explaining the delay of the next season.
“Due to growing short-term uncertainty surrounding the global spread of COVID-19 and the corresponding desire for the continued well-being of our amazing crew, we have decided to push back our start date for Survivor Season 41,” Probst’s letter began.
“Though Fiji has no reported cases and is beautifully remote, our crew numbers over 400 and are flying in from over 20 different countries, creating a need for more time to fully analyze and create our new production safety plan.”
Probst said the “situation is unprecedented, and we are learning more information every day.”
“It is out of concern for the well-being of all of you that we have taken this step.”
Probst added that the “intention” of postponing the show is to “begin production after the S40 live show.”
“Therefore, subject to new information, our new planned start date for production would be on or about May 19th, 2020. Our intention is to still shoot both seasons 41 and 42,” the letter read.
Probst called his team “the most experienced international television team in the world” and added that over the last 20 years, “we have calmly and successfully managed a variety of production issues.”
“We will navigate this one the same way. Thank you for understanding our need for this extra time to create our plan,” Probst concluded.
A spokesperson for CBS added: “Due to concerns and uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 globally, CBS and the producers of Survivor have taken the precautionary measure to delay production on the 41st season, which was set to begin filming later this month in Fiji. Pending worldwide events, the plan is to return to production on May 19th. The health and safety of the castaways and production members is our top priority.”
For most people, the new coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.
The vast majority of people recover from the virus. According to the World Health Organization, people with mild illness recover in about two weeks, while those with more severe illness may take three to six weeks to recover.
— With files from the Associated Press