Netflix orders “deep clean” of The Witcher set after Kristofer Hivju contracts Coronavirus

As the world attempts to halt the spread of the Coronavirus, the entertainment world is taking unprecedented steps to combat the threat. For example, after new cast member and Game of Thrones alum Kristofer Hivju tested positive for the virus, Netflix has ordered a deep clean of set of The Witcher, per Deadline. Best known to Game of Thrones fans as the wildling Tormund, Hivju is set to play a character named Nivellen — a man turned into a beast by a curse — in the show’s upcoming second season.

Like most productions at this point, work had already been halted on The Witcher, but it appears that halt came slightly too late. Netflix ordered the deep clean of the show’s productions offices at Arborfield Studios just outside London in addition to recommending all cast and crew members self-quarantine for the next 14 days. For his part, Hivju told the world about his diagnosis on Instagram:

"Sorry to say that I, today, have tested positive for COVID19, Corona virus. My family and I are self-isolating at home for as long as it takes. We are in good health – I only have mild symptoms of a cold."

I guess there are limits to what even giant’s milk can do.

Hivju is hardly the first celebrity to contract the virus, as Tom Hanks and Idris Alba have also tested positive. Meanwhile, production has halted on virtually all entertainment properties, from Amazon’s Lord of the Rings and Wheel of Time shows to major films, and with upcoming movies like the James Bond film No Time To Die being pushed back past their initial release dates.

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