The BBC has announced that production has ceased on \'Holby City\', \'Casualty\', \'Doctors\', \'River City\' and \'Pobol y Cwm\' due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Following the statement that shooting on \'EastEnders\' has been shut down to protect the cast and crew from the respiratory disease the corporation has made the decision to suspend all filming on its continuous dramas, such as medical programme \'Holby City\' which stars Hugh Quarshie as Ric Griffin.
A BBC spokeswoman said: "In light of the spread of COVID-19, after much consideration, it has been decided that filming on all BBC Studios continuing dramas will be postponed until further notice. The decision was made after the latest government update.
"We will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the World Health Organisation and public health organisations."
It is not yet known how long the programmes will remain on air due to the already recorded instalments.
BBC One soap \'EastEnders\' has been reduced from four episodes per week to two so it can remain on screens whilst the break in the production takes place.
An \'EastEnders\' spokesperson said: "In light of the spread of COVID-19, after much consideration, it has been decided that filming on \'EastEnders\' will be postponed until further notice. The decision was made after the latest government update. We have also taken the decision to reduce the amount of episodes we broadcast each week to two, so that we can ensure the audience can continue to enjoy \'EastEnders\' in their homes for as long as possible."
