‘Chicago Fire’ production on hiatus after team members test positive for COVID-19

Just as it comes back on the air for a virus-delayed ninth season, “Chicago Fire” has shut down production again, and once more the culprit is COVID-19.

NBC confirms a Deadline report that the Chicago-based series halted production on Sunday and will be idle for two weeks. It’s the result of several people on the team testing positive for the coronavirus.

Regular testing is part of the show’s pandemic protocol.

When pandemic restrictions began in mid-March, “Chicago Fire” stopped production before season eight had been completed. The team went back to work Oct. 6, and the first episode of the new season aired Wednesday.

As a result of the extended hiatus, “Fire” had been planning an unusually short season of only 15 episodes.

Illinois is in the midst of a COVID-19 surge as public health officials on Wednesday announced 12,657 new cases of the deadly respiratory disease and the latest 145 deaths attributed to it — the state’s worst daily death toll in almost six months.

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