‘Jeopardy!’ and ‘Wheel of Fortune’ to Film Without Audiences Over Coronavirus Concern
Written by SOURCE on March 10, 2020
Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune will be filmed without a live studio audience due to the coronavirus, TMZ reports.
One of the reasons for the decision was reportedly over concern for Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek. The longtime host of the game show was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer last year and as a result has a compromised immune system that could be more susceptible to contracting the virus.
TMZ also points out that Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune audience members usually consist of older people, a group that’s more vulnerable to the virus. There was also the issue of audience members traveling to join tapings. Sources told TMZ that they aren’t currently certain on how long they will not have a live studio audience for tapings of the show, as it all depends on the status of the respiratory disease.
In other news, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is reportedly in the process of getting pushed back to October due to the coronavirus. The annual music festival was scheduled to go down April 10-12 and April 17-19. Just last week, organizers announced that they were canceling SXSW.
According to the CDC, there are 423 total cases of the virus in the United States as of Monday, March 9 and 19 deaths. 35 states, which includes the District of Columbia, are reporting cases.
