It looks like viewers will have to kiss goodbye to lingering passionate scenes in Taiwanese dramas, in this time of fear and virus.
The coronavirus outbreak originating from Wuhan, central China, has led to the suspension of the filming of TV dramas in China, which has seen the bulk of infections.
While filming continues in Taiwan, where the virus situation is not as bad, TV stations are taking extra precautions, including barring actors from "intimate interactions" to prevent the spread of the virus, United Daily News reported.
Long-running Formosa TV serial Golden City recently had a scene where actress Mia Chiu kissed actor Jun Fu for only one fleeting second.
Their characters were originally supposed to lock lips for longer - with the kiss crowning the moment the both of them overcome their emotional struggles.
Chiu welcomed the change, admitting that she was concerned about close interactions. She felt a "light kiss" would be more appropriate.
Another TV serial that is pulling in the reins on passion is Eastern Broadcasting Company's Sweet Family, which stars actor Kingone Wang, who played Monkey King Sun Wukong in Channel 8 drama Till We Meet Again (2018).
The Taiwanese TV station said it will avoid having overly intimate scenes and filming in crowded places. It has also prepared face masks for crew members during filming.
While Sanlih E-Television's idol drama, The Wonder Woman, has very few kissing scenes, there was one scene that was still too close for comfort.
The face of actor Wes Lo was less than 10cm away from actress Aviis Zhong in the scene in which his character fell on top of her. Lo was suffering from the flu at that time and it was reported that Zhong fell sick soon after.
Lo joked that he should "disinfect" himself if there were kissing scenes in the future.
Meanwhile, Singapore's Mediacorp told Shin Min Daily News that filming for its shows will carry on as usual, but it stressed that it will take precautions according to Ministry of Health guidelines.
It also said that it would avoid shooting kissing scenes if the actors are unwell, even under normal circumstances.
