The adult film industry will resume production on Friday after four people tested positive for HIV, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The two-week moratorium placed to halt filming of porn will be officially lifted, according to the Free Speech Coalition, a trade group which monitors testing of sexually transmitted diseases of actors.
Porn stars Cameron Bay, Rod Daily and two more unnamed actors have tested positive for HIV. Bay and Daily are reportedly a real-life couple.
Critics of the adult film industry say that testing isn't enough to protect porn actors, and insist lawmakers should make it mandatory to wear condoms on set.
"Whether or not [Bay] was infected on set, she performed with HIV between her tests," AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein told the LA Times. "If you think that Russian roulette is a great way to protect workers, then the present system is perfect."
However, the porn industry confirmed they will be revising they STD testing protocols to require testing of performers every 14 days.
The Free Speech Coalition is adamant that their testing protocols work to keeps actors safe and prevent on-set transmissions, according to the LA Times.
"It's disappointing when scare tactics are used," Free Speech Coalition Chief Executive Diane Duke said.
The Free Speech Coalition has yet to confirm the source of the infection.
Human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, is a virus which attacks a person's immune system, and can lead acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS. According to the Centers of Prevention and Disease, one can be a carrier of the disease and show no symptoms, making the virus extremely lethal.
Bay, the first porn actor to test positive for HIV, told the Huffington Post the medicine that can help her fight the infection will cost her $2,000 for a 30 day supply without insurance.
"I spent more in one day on medical stuff than I did on rent for two months," Bay said. "I had a safety net of three months of not working and that cut into it a lot."
The porn actress was also denied health insurance, and was told by a provider she can reapply in two years.
Do you agree that testing protocols are enough to keep porn actors safe from HIV infections? Or should lawmakers make it mandatory for performers to wear condoms on set and provide HIV/AIDS education?
Leave your thoughts in the comments section below.
