COVID - 19 Reopening Plan 2021-2022 - Rosary Academy

COVID – 19
               Reopening Plan
                 2021-2022

The 2021-2022 Reopening Plan reflects the State of California’s COVID-19 Reopening
In-Person Instruction Framework and Public Health Guidance for K-12 Schools in
California, 2021-2022 School Year issued on January 14, 2021. The original plan can be
found on the Rosary Academy website.
                      https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/K-12-Guidance-2021-22-School-Year.aspx

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WHAT IS COVID-19

Coronavirus (COVID-19) is an illness caused by a virus that can spread from person to
person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a new coronavirus that has spread
throughout the world. The symptoms can range from mild (or no symptoms) to severe
illness.

HOW COVID-19 SPREADS
The virus that causes COVID-19 is mainly spread by respiratory droplets. When
someone infected with COVID-19 coughs or sneezes, respiratory droplets that contain
the virus are expelled and can be breathed in by someone nearby. Although the virus
cannot enter the body through the skin, the respiratory droplets carrying the virus can
get into your airways or mucous membranes of your eyes, nose, or mouth to infect you.
The virus can also be spread if you touch a surface contaminated with virus and then
touch your eyes, nose or mouth, although this is not the primary way the virus spreads.

Therefore, prevention practices such as handwashing and staying home when sick along
with disinfection are important guiding principles that are covered in this document.
Rosary Academy has utilized guidance from the CDC, California Department of Public
Health (CDPH), California Department of Education (CDE), Rosary Academy Health &
Wellness Committee, and the Diocese of Orange in development of this comprehensive
health & safety plan.

Signs & Symptoms
Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.
People have had a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe.
          •   Fever
          •   Cough
          •   Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
          •   Chills
          •   Repeated shaking with chills
          •   Muscle pain
          •   Headache
          •   Sore throat
          •   New loss of taste or smell
          •   Nausea and vomiting
          •   Trouble breathing
          •   Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
          •   New confusion or inability to arouse
          •   Bluish lips or face
If you have any severe symptoms, contact your medical provider.

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As the CDC explained in its July 9, 2021 Guidance:

“Schools will have a mixed population of both people who are fully vaccinated and people
who are not fully vaccinated. . . These variations require K-12 administrators to make
decisions about the use of COVID-19 prevention strategies in their schools to protect
people who are not fully vaccinated. . . Together with local public health officials, school
administrators should consider multiple factors when they make decisions about
implementing layered prevention strategies against COVID-19.”

In an effort to streamline and tailor this decision-making process for the California
context, guidance regarding each of the measures that can be used in a layered prevention
strategy is provided below.

The Diocese of Orange and Rosary Academy remain committed to following
recommended public health guidance, and for this reason, students, faculty and staff are
required to wear masks while indoors for the coming school year.

The Department of Catholic Schools and Rosary Academy will continue to monitor our
state’s guidance and will post any changes that impact Catholic school operations.

CURRENT POLICIES

CDPH has created new options that will reduce, and in some cases eliminate, absences
required for quarantine following a close contact with someone who has COVID-19. This
will allow us to avoid sending full classrooms of students’ home for quarantine.

With the elimination of these requirements, CDPH is relying on a multi-layered
prevention strategy approach, including continued face covering guidance and robust
testing programs provided free by the state.

The State of California has issued the following requirements:

         • All K-12 students are required to mask indoors.
         • Adults in K-12 school settings are required to mask when sharing indoor
           spaces with students.
         • Masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings.
         • Consistent with guidance from the 2020-21 school year, schools must
           develop and implement local protocols to enforce the mask requirements.

County health officials have confirmed that all school districts must comply with the
guidance for schools included in the State Public Health Officer Order of June 11, 2021,
which derives its authority from Health and Safety Codes 120125, 120140,
120175,120195 and 131080 and other applicable laws. As a public entity, the Orange
public health order includes a similar requirement.

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The state has not given school districts or schools the discretion to make face coverings
optional, or to create their own standard for enforcement. We are required to enforce
this mandate, as we would with any law, regulation, or policy. Locations may exact
stricter standards, but not less. Our adherence to these same public safety measures
allowed us a successful return to school last year. The current mask requirement is
supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

                                   Safety Measures

Key Prevention Practices
  • Face coverings required while in doors
  • Training employees on all elements of the COVID-19 prevention plan.
  • Establish a written, worksite-specific COVID-19 prevention plan at every office
     location on campus, perform a comprehensive risk assessment of all work areas,
     and designate a person at each office workspace to implement the plan.
  • Identify contact information for the local health department where the facility is
     located for communicating information about COVID-19 outbreaks among
     employees.
  • Investigate any COVID-19 illness and determine if any work-related factors could
     have contributed to risk of infection. Update the plan as needed to prevent
     further cases.
  • Workers who are sick or exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 are to stay home.

Campus Access/Visits
Visitor recommendations
   •   Parents and family members are welcome to campus. Appointments must be
       established with teachers, counselors, administrators, or others.
   •   Rosary Academy will limit nonessential visitors, volunteers, and activities
       involving external groups or organizations.
   •   Rosary Academy service providers will be welcome to campus, but must be in
       compliance with school visitor polices.
   •   If a student or staff member feels ill, they are to stay home. Anyone, including
       visitors, who have symptoms of infectious illness, such as flu or COVID-19,
       should stay home and seek testing and care.
Classroom Spaces
The six-foot standard of space between desks has been eliminated by the state of
California as long as other virus mitigating measures are in place (such as the universal
wearing of masks indoors or enhancements made to ventilation systems).

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Cleaning Recommendations
   • In general, cleaning once a day is usually enough to sufficiently remove potential
     virus that may be on surfaces. Disinfecting (using disinfectants on the U.S.
     Environmental Protection Agency COVID-19 list) removes any remaining germs
     on surfaces, which further reduces any risk of spreading infection.

   •   For more information on cleaning a facility regularly, when to clean more
       frequently or disinfect, cleaning a facility when someone is sick, safe storage of
       cleaning and disinfecting products, and considerations for protecting workers who
       clean facilities, see Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Facility.

   •   If a facility has had a sick person with COVID-19 within the last 24 hours, clean
       AND disinfect the spaces occupied by that person during that time.

Daily Health Screenings
Families are encouraged to complete health screenings before coming to campus.

Employees
Personnel are required to return to work.

Face Coverings/PPE
It is mandatory for all personnel, students and visitors to wear a protective face
covering/mask while in campus buildings. Masks are not required outdoors.

Current California Department of Public Health and Orange County Health Care Agency
regulations require that students wear masks at school while indoors, regardless of
vaccination or prior infection status. In outdoor settings, masks are not required.
Whether masks will need to be worn indoors throughout the school year is not known.
Per the California Department of Public Health, "CDPH will continue to assess
conditions on an ongoing basis and will determine no later than November 1, 2021
whether to update mask requirements or recommendations."

   •   Masks are optional outdoors for all in K-12 school settings
   •   K-12 students are required to mask indoors, with exemptions per CDPH face
       mask guidance. Adults in K-12 school settings are required to mask when
       sharing indoor spaces with students.
   •   Persons exempted from wearing a face covering due to a medical condition, must
       wear a non-restrictive alternative, such as a face shield with a drape on the
       bottom edge, as long as their condition permits it.
   •   In limited situations where a face covering cannot be used for pedagogical or
       developmental reasons, (e.g., communicating or assisting young children or those
       with special needs) a face shield with a drape (per CDPH guidelines) can be used
       instead of a face covering while in the classroom as long as the wearer maintains
       physical distance from others.

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Hand Hygiene Recommendations
  • Teach and reinforce washing hands, avoiding contact with one's eyes, nose, and
     mouth, and covering coughs and sneezes among students and staff.

   •   Promote hand washing throughout the day, especially before and after eating, after
       using the toilet, and after handling garbage, or removing gloves.

   •   Ensure adequate supplies to support healthy hygiene behaviors, including soap,
       tissues, no-touch trashcans, face coverings, and hand sanitizers with at least 60
       percent ethyl alcohol for staff and children who can safely use hand sanitizer.

Important to Note
  • Enhanced facility cleaning at the start/end of each work/school day.
  • All departments, groups, entities, personnel are to follow preset facility utilization
    schedule to maintain control of flow and allow for disinfection before/after use.
  • Meetings limited to state/county guidance, distancing to best of abilities.

Instruction
Rosary Academy intends instruction to be in-person this school year. Temporary virtual
instruction through Zoom will be used sparingly and only in those cases that have been
approved by the nurse, and the Administration (e.g. when a student is required by law
or a doctor’s orders to have to quarantine).

Physical Distancing
Recent evidence indicates that in-person instruction can occur safely without minimum
physical distancing requirements when other mitigation strategies (e.g., masking) are
implemented. This is consistent with CDC K-12 School Guidance.

Ventilation
Ventilation in classrooms has been optimized should be optimized according to CDPH
Guidance on Ventilation of Indoor Environments and Ventilation and Filtration to
Reduce Long-Range Airborne Transmission of COVID-19 and Other Respiratory. Each
classroom and office space have been equipped with air purifiers.

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                                      Infections

Recommendations for staying home when sick and getting tested:

Follow the strategy for Staying Home when Sick and Getting Tested from the CDC.

Getting tested for COVID-19 when symptoms are consistent with COVID-19 will help
with rapid contact tracing and prevent possible spread at schools.

Advise staff members and students with symptoms of COVID-19 infection not to return
for in-person instruction until they have met CDPH criteria to return to school for those
with symptoms:

   •   At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-
       reducing medications; and
   •   Other symptoms have improved; and
   •   They have a negative test for SARS-CoV-2, OR a healthcare provider has provided
       documentation that the symptoms are typical of their underlying chronic
       condition (e.g., allergies or asthma) OR a healthcare provider has confirmed an
       alternative named diagnosis (e.g., Streptococcal pharyngitis, Coxsackie virus), OR
       at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset.

Case Reporting, Contact Tracing And Investigation

   •   Per AB 86 (2021) and California Code Title 17, section 2500, Rosary Academy is
       required to report COVID-19 cases to the local public health department.

   •   Rosary Academy staff work with a COVID-19 liaison to assist the local health
       department with contact tracing and investigation.

Students with COVID-19 Symptoms
Students with any COVID-19 symptoms must not return to school until the following
have occurred (from the CDPH website):

   1. At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-
      reducing medications; and
   2. Other symptoms have improved; and
   3. They have a negative test for COVID-19, OR a healthcare provider has provided
      documentation that the symptoms are typical of their underlying chronic
      condition (e.g., allergies or asthma) OR a healthcare provider has confirmed an
      alternative named diagnosis (e.g., Streptococcal pharyngitis, Coxsackie virus), OR
      at least 10 days have passed since symptom onset.

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Quarantine Recommendations for Vaccinated Close Contacts

For those who are vaccinated, follow the CDPH Fully Vaccinated People Guidance
regarding quarantine. Recently the state introduced new quarantine rules for those
exposed to someone with COVID-19 which will help with contact tracing. If a student is
currently vaccinated and is exposed to a positive case (exposure defined as being within
six feet of a positive case for fifteen minutes or more), the student, if asymptomatic, can
return to school and fully engage in both curricular and extracurricular activities. If a
student is not vaccinated and is exposed to a positive case, the student can return to school
under the following conditions:

   •   The student has been tested for COVID-19 and the test was negative.
   •   At the time of exposure, the student was wearing a mask.
   •   The student has no COVID-19 symptoms.
   •   The student receives a second negative test within ten days of initial exposure.
   •   The student cannot participate in extracurricular activities for a period of ten days
       from initial exposure.

Quarantine recommendations for unvaccinated students for exposures when both parties
were wearing a mask, as required in K-12 indoor settings. These are adapted from the
CDC K-12 guidance and CDC definition of a close contact.

When both parties were wearing a mask in the indoor classroom setting, unvaccinated
students who are close contacts (more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period within 0-6
feet indoors) may undergo a modified 10-day quarantine as follows. They may continue
to attend school for in-person instruction if they:

   •   Are asymptomatic;
   •   Continue to appropriately mask, as required;
   •   Undergo at least twice weekly testing during the 10-day quarantine; and
   •   Continue to quarantine for all extracurricular activities at school, including sports,
       and activities within the community setting.

Quarantine recommendations for: unvaccinated close contacts who were not wearing
masks or for whom the infected individual was not wearing a mask during the indoor
exposure; or unvaccinated students as described above.

For these contacts, those who remain asymptomatic, meaning they have NOT had any
symptoms, may discontinue self-quarantine under the following conditions:

   •   Quarantine can end after Day 10 from the date of last exposure without testing; OR
   •   Quarantine can end after Day 7 if a diagnostic specimen is collected after Day 5
       from the date of last exposure and tests negative.

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To discontinue quarantine before 14 days following last known exposure, asymptomatic
close contacts must:
   • Continue daily self-monitoring for symptoms through Day 14 from last known
       exposure; AND
   • Follow all recommended non-pharmaceutical interventions (e.g., wearing a mask
       when around others, hand washing, avoiding crowds) through Day 14 from last
       known exposure.

If any symptoms develop during this 14-day period, the exposed person must immediately
isolate, get tested and contact their healthcare provider with any questions regarding their
care.

Isolation
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) recommends a symptom-based
strategy to determine the duration of isolation for people with COVID-19 who are
symptomatic, meaning they have symptoms. Persons with COVID-19 who have symptoms
and were instructed to care for themselves at home may discontinue self-isolation under
the following conditions:

   •   At least 10 days have passed since symptom onset; AND
   •   At least 24 hours have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever-
       reducing medications; AND
   •   Other symptoms have improved

Exposure response management
  • When a student, teacher or staff members tests positive for COVID 19 and had
     exposed others at the school, our exposure management protocol will be
     initiated, which includes notification to OCPHA. Those who had close contact
     with a person diagnosed with COVID19 will be informed to stay home and self-
     monitor for symptoms along with consideration of being tested. Within the
     protocol, communication to students and parents will occur while maintaining
     confidential of all parties.
  • In consultation with the Orange County Public Health Agency (OCPHA), the
     Rosary Academy Head of School and Principal may decide whether school
     closure is warranted, including the length of time necessary based on the risk
     level within the community as determined by the OCPHA Officer.

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Positive COVID-19 Case
In the event of a positive case, the school will:
   1. Rosary Academy will adhere to required reporting requirements and notify, as
      describe below, the OCPH of any newly reported case of COVID-19 in a student
      or staff member if the OCPH has not yet contacted them about the case,
   2. If the case is present at school at the time the school is notified, the case must go
      home and be excluded from school for at least 10 days from symptom onset date
      or, if asymptomatic, 10 days from the date the specimen was collected for the
      positive test.
   3. Assist OCPH in identifying close contacts of the case. Send a notice, developed in
      collaboration with the OCPH, to parents and staff to inform them that a case of
      COVID-19 in a student or staff member has been reported and that the school will
      work with the OCPH to notify exposed people.
   4. Arrange for cleaning and disinfection of the classroom and primary spaces where
      case spent significant time. This does not need to be done until students and staff
      in the area have left for the day.
   5. Implement online/distance learning for student cases if they are well enough to
      participate.

Required COVID-19 Reporting
   ● The school will notify the local health officer of any known case of COVID-19
     among any student or employee who was present on a school campus.
   ● The school will utilize the Orange County Health Care Agency’s Investigation and
     Contact Tracing Processes and Guidance for OC Schools” (December 2020) to
     report all positive cases and close contacts.
   ● This information shall be reported to the local health officer by telephone within
     twenty-four hours from the time an individual within the local educational
     agency or private school is first made aware of a new case.

Cluster or Outbreak at School
When either a school or OCPH is aware that an outbreak may be underway, the OCPH
should investigate, in collaboration with the school, to determine whether these cases
had a common exposure at school (e.g., a common class or staff member, bus ride, or
other common exposures outside of school). CDPH defines a school outbreak as 3 or
more confirmed or probable cases of staff or students occurring within a 14-day period
who are epidemiologically linked in the school, are from different households and are
not contacts of each other in any other investigation cases (e.g., transmission likely
occurred in the school setting).

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During the investigation, Rosary Academy will:
  1. Notify parents/guardians and school staff of a cluster/outbreak investigation
      related to the school and encourage them to follow public health
      recommendations.
  2. Assign our school nurse to liaise with the OCPH regarding the cluster/outbreak
      investigation by confirming which classes and stable groups included confirmed
      cases or symptomatic students and staff members, and if recent events or
      gatherings involved any cases or symptomatic persons.
  3. Identify absenteeism among those in affected classes or stable groups, and
      coordinate with the OCPH to contact these absentees to screen for symptoms of
      COVID-19 if they were exposed to a case during the cases infectious period.
  4. Coordinate with the OCPH to share a line list of cases and contacts with dates
      present at or absent from school.
  5. Arrange for cleaning and disinfection of classrooms or other areas where cases or
      symptomatic students or staff members spend significant time.
  6. Coordinate with the OCPH on notifications to the school community, including
      specific notifications of stable groups or classrooms regarding their exclusion
      status and instructions.
  7. Coordinate with the OCPH on whether and when the school should be closed and
      reopened.
  8. Notify the school community if the school is to be closed for 14 days due to
      widespread and/or ongoing transmission of SARS-CoV2 at the school or in the
      general community, and repeat recommendations for prevention and control
      measures (see sample notification #3 in Appendix 2).
  9. Implement online/distance teaching and learning during school closure.
  10. Arrange for cleaning and disinfection of entire school before reopening in the
      case of closure.

School Closure Determinations – additional information
Individual school closure, in which all students and staff are not on campus, is
recommended based on the number of cases and stable groups impacted, which suggest
that active in-school transmission is occurring. Closure should be done in consultation
with the OCPH. Situations that may indicate the need for school closure:
   ● Within a 14-day period, an outbreak has occurred in 25% or more stable groups
       in the school.
   ● Within a 14-day period, at least three outbreaks have occurred in the school AND
       more than 5% of the school population is infected.
   ● The OCPH may also determine school closure is warranted for other reasons,
       including results from public health investigation or other local epidemiological
       data.
Length of closure: 14 days, or according to a decision made in consultation with
the OCPH.

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Testing
When a student or staff exhibits COVID-19 symptoms, the student or staff member will
be sent home and testing will be recommended. School employees and students who
need testing should either go to their health care provider or a state-operated or other
community testing site. Testing information and test centers in Orange County may be
found here: https://occovid19.ochealthinfo.com/covid-19-testing. The Department of
Managed Health Care has filed an emergency regulation to require health plans to pay
for COVID-19 testing for all essential workers, including school staff. In addition, tests
are available at community testing sites throughout the state.

School Nurse
Rosary Academy has hired two registered nurses who will share the position. The school
has also converted an office space into a health room. The school nurses oversee the
emotional, mental, physical and social health of students. They provide students with
basic health services throughout the school day. The nurses will also manage students
who have chronic health conditions and students with disabilities. This includes giving
them medication as needed and working with parents and teachers to create and enforce
care plans. The nursing team will manage all COVID-19 protocols and policies.

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   Rosary Academy
  1340 N. Acacia Ave.
  Fullerton, CA 92831
     714-879-6302
www.rosaryacademy.org