On Wednesday, Nov. 24, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) updated the COVID-19 guidance and requirements for K-12 schools, and on Thursday, Jan. 6, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their guidance for schools.

The foundational principle of the CDPH guidance is that all students must have access to safe and full in-person instruction and to as much instructional time as possible. As such, in-person instruction can occur at OCSA without physical distancing so long as universal masking is in place. When students are present at school, students and staff are required to wear masks while indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Vaccinated individuals are permitted to be maskless when outside.

OCSA is committed to providing accurate and transparent information regarding COVID-19 cases within our community, while also maintaining privacy and confidentiality for our students and staff. The graphic below reports active COVID-19 cases among OCSA students, staff, and campus visitors. This data will be updated regularly and as cases are confirmed.

OCSA will continue to follow guidance from the CDPH and Orange County Health Care Agency for the safe operation of in-person learning.

OCSA has created a COVID-19 Reporting Form to help streamline the process for our OCSA community to know how and when to report a positive COVID-19 case.

You can access the form at any time by visiting www.ocsarts.net/COVID19Report. 

This form is to be used by OCSA faculty, staff, and students (or parents/guardians on behalf of students). This form is also available to parents, vendors, or visitors to the OCSA campus. Please be assured that OCSA will maintain confidentiality regarding any information submitted through this form and will protect student/staff privacy following established HIPAA and FERPA protocols.

Please complete this form if you, or your student, have been on the OCSA campus and:

• Have received a positive COVID-19 test

• Have had a possible exposure to COVID-19

• Are currently experiencing COVID-19 symptoms

For an easy-view flow chart to help determine if and when your child should stay home from school, please click here.

Please follow all directives for your individual situation, and seek immediate medical assistance if your condition worsens. If contact tracing for on-campus OCSA contacts is necessary, an OCSA Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) will contact you (usually in 1-2 days when school is in session) directly to begin contact tracing protocols established by the school.

It is going to take a concerted effort to keep OCSA safe. Reporting positive COVID-19 tests, possible exposure to COVID-19, or COVID-19 symptoms will ensure timely notifications to individuals and our community. Additionally, accurate reporting will help slow the spread of the disease, protect our school and greater community, and support OCSA’s ability to keep our campus open.

Each time OCSA is notified through the COVID-19 Reporting Form of a positive case on campus related to a student, faculty/staff member, or community member, our Licensed Vocational Nurses (LVNs), who are certified in contact tracing, will determine the level of exposure and initiate one or more of the following notifications.

Close Contact Notification: Close contact is defined as being exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual at a distance of less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes within a 24-hour period. Individuals identified within this group will receive notification from an OCSA LVN via phone call AND email. The LVN will provide the individual with key instructions regarding quarantine and related health care information.

Low Risk Notification: Low risk is defined as being indirectly exposed to a COVID-19 positive individual through a shared classroom or office space. Individuals identified within this group will receive notification from an OCSA LVN via email through Aeries Communications. The notification will include health care information related to monitoring potential symptoms; however, individuals within this group are not required to quarantine as long as they remain symptom free.

If you do not receive either a Close Contact or Low Risk Notification, it has been determined through contact tracing that you have not been exposed, and no action is required. Please note that the Community Notification, which was previously sent out to the entire OCSA community on days in which COVID-19 cases were reported on campus, will no longer be a part of our notification process. Instead, this COVID-19 Dashboard will serve as the primary resource for keeping our larger OCSA community informed on active case totals (see above).

Lastly, with each confirmed positive case, the OCSA Facilities Team will be notified as well. These professionals are trained to complete a deep cleaning of any exposure area(s) and are committed to keeping the OCSA campus safe.

Weekly COVID-19 testing is available to all faculty, staff, students and families as an extra health and safety resource. There are two different schedules for on-site testing, a Staff and General COVID-19 Testing Schedule and a Student Performer and Crew Member COVID-19 Testing Schedule. Please be sure to select your group's schedule to ensure you are arriving on the correct date.

Please note: As of Jan. 21, 2022, OCSA students and employees will need to re-register for on-site testing using the process below. 

The process to register for testing is as follows:

REGISTRATION

Click here to begin your registration process! You will also use this link to access your results, please be sure to save this link.

• Select "New Patient Registration" (once registered this will be your sign in page to access results).
• Fill in your basic information.
• Complete the email verification.
• Enter your patient demographics, insurance information & guarantor information, if applicable.
  • Onsite testing has no out of pocket expenses regardless of insurance status at this time. We will send out an update if any changes in coverage occur.
• Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
• Authorize and consent to release your medical information.
• If you would like to change any of this information, please select the "Update My Insurance & Contact Info" button on the home page.
• Registration Complete!

SCHEDULING AN APPOINTMENT

• You do not need to schedule an appointment for onsite testing, once you have registered you are good to go!
• Please click here to access the staff and general testing schedule. Please click here to access the student performers and crew members testing schedule.
• Staff and General testing will be held at the beginning of each week.
• Student Performer and Crew Member testing will be held at the end of each week.

TESTING ONSITE

Testing Location: Symphony Hall

• Please enter through the side door off of 10th Street, you will see a COVID-19 testing sign outside the door. Please wait outside until it is your turn to test. The patient will verify their name and date of birth at the time of testing.

ACCESSING YOUR RESULTS

You will receive an email notification once results are available, results can also be found through your Omni profile. If you test negative you do not need to take further action. If you test positive, please complete the OCSA COVID-19 Reporting Form and a facility member will be in touch with you as soon as possible with the appropriate next steps.

Thank you for your help in keeping our campus safe!

In addition to health and safety measures taken on our campus, we encourage the OCSA community to be proactive in helping to limit the spread of COVID-19 by practicing physical distancing (staying at least six feet apart), maintaining good hygiene (hand washing), and wearing face coverings.

Important public health prevention measures include:

• For those who are vaccinated, follow the Guidance for Local Health Jurisdictions on Isolation and Quarantine of the General Public regarding quarantine.

• For those who are unvaccinated, follow the CDPH Safety Measures for K-12 Schools, particularly as stated in items 8 and 9.  As a reminder, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone five years and older should get a COVID-19 vaccination to help protect against COVID-19. For more information regarding COVID-19 vaccines for children and teens, please click here.

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds (sing the Happy Birthday song for help in timing the 20 seconds). If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizers that contain at least 60% alcohol.

• Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, and then dispose of the tissue and clean your hands immediately. If you do not have a tissue, use your sleeve, not your hands, to cover your coughs and sneezes.

• Limit close contact with people who are sick, and avoid sharing food, drinks, or utensils.

• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipes. 

• All students and staff should wear a mask or face covering while in the educational setting.

For additional questions related to COVID-19, please visit the OC Health Care Agency website, which also includes a COVID-19 hotline.