On Monday, Deadline broke the news that Lionsgate brought back a Covid mask mandate on two floors of its five-story flagship office in Santa Monica after several employees had tested positive. The story, which also covered other measures – including contact tracing, daily self-screenings as well as self-isolation after out-of-country trips — was widely picked up and made national news. That turned Lionsgate — and by association Hollywood — into a target for criticism over the mandate reinstatement amid a nationwide rise in Covid cases.