Health & Safety Plan

for

Addressing COVID-19 and other airborne and infectious illnesses

 Last updated: October 3, 2026

This evolving health and safety plan has been crafted with the aid of many resources, and in consultation with multidisciplinary subject matter experts and community advocates. We are grateful for their assistance. For help with your own risk and hazard assessments or health and safety plan, please check out some of these resources.

Summary

  • Wear a respirator mask (like an N95) for indoor activities and non-distanced outdoor activities, with some accommodations and exceptions
  • Test for COVID-19 before in-person activities
  • Stay home and inform Opera Mariposa if you have symptoms of a infectious illness, a positive test result, or a recent exposure (e.g., illness in your household)
  • Stay as up-to-date with vaccinations as possible
  • Refrain from wearing fragrances or scented products on site
  • Follow other health and safety practices on site (e.g., distancing or occupancy limits; don’t bring animals other than service animals)
  • Participate in health and safety planning and the development of community agreements as needed
  • Voluntarily share your access needs, accommodations requests, questions, and concerns with us (anonymous contact form here)
  • Maintain a robust health and safety policy for airborne illnesses and other health hazards
  • Develop additional tailored measures, community agreements, and individual accommodations as needed, in consultation with stakeholders
  • Designate a COVID-19 safety captain for gatherings with multiple people
  • Provide clear info, communication, and training about health and safety plans and hazards (including exposure notifications if needed)
  • Perform hazard and risk assessments, and monitor broader risks (like air quality, wildfire smoke, and community disease levels)
  • Prioritize digital and outdoor options
  • Select and set up indoor venues for the best air quality possible
  • Provide health and safety supplies like respirator masks (e.g., N95s), COVID rapid tests, portable air purifiers, air quality monitors, and cleaning and sanitizing products (including fragrance-free soap)
  • Consult applicable regulations and guidance, up-to-date research, subject matter experts, and those with lived experience
  • Keep updating our health and safety plan as needed

Table of contents

1. Purpose and scope

The purpose of this health and safety plan is to outline a layered strategy protecting against airborne and respiratory-transmitted illnesses, while also reducing risks of other airborne hazards like allergens and wildfire smoke. It establishes baseline measures for health and safety, accessibility, and community care for all Mariposa projects. 

Some projects and spaces may also face unique needs and risks. In these cases, we may develop tailored measures, in discussion with those affected. Tailored measures will be used in addition to the baseline protections laid out below. 

We recognize that no plan, however carefully developed, can entirely guarantee freedom from illness. However, we aim to reduce foreseeable risks by using as many available tools as possible, guided by the precautionary principle, current scientific consensus on best practices, and the principles of disability justice. 

As situations (and pathogens) evolve, our policies will too. We commit to timely, transparent communication about changes; prioritizing informed consent; and striving to centre the most impacted.

2. Why this matters

Opera Mariposa is a disability-run opera company led by multiply-marginalized and medically higher-risk people. As such, we recognize that maintaining a robust, transparent policy for COVID-19 and other infectious and airborne illnesses is not only a key part of workplace health and safety, but crucial to creating more equitable, accessible spaces. 

We further recognize that:

3. Key hazards


3.1 About airborne illnesses

Airborne illnesses are illnesses that spread via small airborne particles (“aerosols”), which infected people release when they breathe, speak, sing, sneeze, or cough. Aerosols can spread quickly and widely much farther than 6 feet, wafting through the air like smoke. In enclosed settings, they can linger in the air for hours, even after an infected person has left the room. 

New research demonstrates that many respiratory-transmitted illnesses can spread via airborne transmission. Some examples include measles, COVID-19, influenza, tuberculosis (TB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human rhinovirus, and varicella (chickenpox). 

3.2 About COVID-19

COVID-19 is a highly contagious illness caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. It can cause short-term (“acute”) infection, as well as long-term health impacts (“Long COVID“). It affects multiple body systems like the lungs, brain, blood vessels, and immune system, and is associated with long-term vocal damage. It has different variants that can cause many possible symptoms, and which can infect the same person over and over again. It is widespread throughout the community, with waves and surges that can occur throughout the year.

Some people with COVID-19 experience mild or no symptoms at first, but can infect others even if they don’t feel sick. Others experience severe acute illness, which can lead to hospitalization or death. Vaccination and some treatments reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. However, vaccines do not fully prevent COVID infection or transmission; may provide weaker protection for immunocompromised people; and offer reduced protection over time or against new variants. 

All COVID-19 survivors, including vaccinated adults and children, are at risk of developing Long COVID and other new medical conditions. These risks multiply with repeated COVID infections. 

3.3 About other airborne hazards

Not all air quality hazards involve contagious diseases. They may also include things like:

4. Types of activities

4.1 Digital & remote activities

To maintain safety and accessibility for as many people as possible, Opera Mariposa currently conducts most of our activities digitally and remotely. This means:

  • We consider remote, digital and contactless options prior to in-person options
  • We consider methods of remote or hybrid participation for in-person activities
  • We work to accommodate and support individuals and communities who face barriers to digital participation, or to the use of particular technological tools or platforms

4.2 In-person activities

Opera Mariposa implements layered health and safety measures for all in-person activities. We conduct risk and hazard assessments prior to in-person activities. 

For activities involving more than two people or household “bubbles”, we designate at least one individual to act as the on-site health and safety coordinator or “COVID safety captain”. 

Please note: Due to Opera Mariposa’s current digital-first strategy, our in-person safety measures are tailored to team members (e.g., performers, technicians, administrators) rather than audience members. Dedicated audience protocols would be developed for any future events that include in-person audience participation in addition to digital participation.

5. Communication & confidentiality

Opera Mariposa recognizes that clear communication is key to health and safety, and to ensuring informed consent. To that end, we will:

  • Communicate relevant health and safety information at multiple points (e.g., in job listings and offers, work agreements, prior to and during work activities, and in public-facing event info)
  • Provide opportunities for participants to share access needs and request accommodations, including anonymously
  • Consult with subject matter experts as needed (e.g., doctors, public health specialists, engineering and technical consultants, occupational health and safety advisors, community advocates, those with lived and living experience)
  • Consult with team members and other stakeholders on project practices and community agreements above and beyond our baseline measures
  • Coordinate with third parties (e.g., co-producers, venues, rental companies) about health and safety measures
  • Obtain confirmation of relevant testing and screening, waivers, etc. as needed
  • Provide training and education about our health and safety measures to team members
  • Retain team member contact information for contact-tracing purposes
  • Treat personal information, including medical information, according to applicable privacy laws and policies, and only use and retain this information as required to help administer this health and safety policy
  • Continue to monitor:
    • Community illness levels, outbreaks, and public health alerts
    • Fluctuating environmental hazards like air quality and wildfire smoke
    • Current scientific research and evolving best practices
    • Applicable guidance, standards, policies, and regulations

We encourage team members to bring questions or concerns to the onsite COVID safety captain if applicable, or to Opera Mariposa at info@operamariposa.com. If you have things you prefer to share or ask anonymously, you can use this anonymous contact form. 

6. Health & safety measures

Everyone participating in Opera Mariposa activities is expected to follow our health and safety policies and practices. If someone cannot meet a specific requirement on protected grounds (e.g., for medical or religious reasons), Opera Mariposa is committed to working with them to develop appropriate accommodations without compromising safety.

Our baseline health and safety measures include:

6.1 Screening and testing

Health checks

All in-person team members must perform a health check prior to each Mariposa activity (example self-assessment form here), and not attend if they have symptoms of contagious illness or a positive test result.

Illness notification

To help protect all team members, we also ask that team members to contact Opera Mariposa and/or the COVID safety captain should they or someone close to them test positive, develop infectious illness symptoms, or discover a possible illness exposure. This includes before and during in-person activities, and directly afterwards. (Example of routine 2-week team follow-up here.)

We commit to notifying team members of potential exposures during Opera Mariposa activities – see section 7.3 Exposure events.

Testing

Since COVID-19 circulates year-round and the majority of COVID transmission occurs without symptoms, Opera Mariposa uses COVID assurance testing for in-person activities. Depending on community hazard levels and project-specific risks, we may also test for other illnesses (e.g., influenza, RSV).

Rapid COVID tests are available at some BC pharmacies for free, or Opera Mariposa is happy to provide them. Minimum testing protocols are as follows:

  • All team members must perform a rapid antigen test (following these video instructions and FAQ) and report results:
    • Prior to each in-person activity (e.g., a rehearsal or recording session)
    • If they develop symptoms of contagious illness
  • Testing frequency may be reduced if team members have quarantined for 14+ days, and/or where all people present are already part of the same household “bubble”

Note that rapid antigen tests may not catch all infections due to lower sensitivity, so it’s important to repeat tests over time and continue using other layers of protection. Where logistics permit, and in circumstances of elevated risk, molecular (PCR-like) testing will be used instead for improved accuracy, with tests supplied by Opera Mariposa.

See part 7, In the event of illness, for protocols if someone tests positive. 

Further resources: 

6.2 Air quality

When possible, outdoor activities and locations will be considered prior to indoor options. 

For all indoor activities, clean air measures will be used, scaled to the number of people and/or the size of the space as much as possible. Best practices for clean air rates will be based on the most current edition of ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols. 

Specific clean air measures include:

  • Monitoring: We will use carbon dioxide (CO2) monitors to help assess ventilation and airborne illness risks
  • Portable air purifiers: We will have air cleaners present with HEPA or MERV-13 filters or better. These air cleaners will run continuously unless noise levels are prohibitive; if air cleaners must be turned off (e.g., for audio recording), we will schedule regular “air cleaning breaks”.
  • Natural ventilation: When possible, windows or exterior doors will be opened for improved ventilation (unless prohibited by circumstances like inclement weather or wildfire smoke)
  • Mechanical building ventilation: When possible, HVAC system usage will be optimized, for example by:
    • Choosing venues with appropriate indoor air quality specifications
    • Switching the HVAC system to “on” instead of “auto”
    • Ensuring higher-grade filters are in place and regularly changed
    • Booking public buildings while empty, and/or closing or covering the vents or creating a positive pressure environment to reduce transmission risks from other building occupants 
  • Ultraviolet disinfection: Where possible, UV-C disinfection will be used as a supplementary measure to help inactivate viruses, bacteria, and fungi
  • Air flow control: Efforts will be made to optimize air flow based on the specific venue or activity, for example to:
    • Improve air mixing (and thus, effectiveness of air cleaning equipment)
    • Improve natural ventilation (e.g., by creating cross breezes)
    • Create positive or negative pressure environments or better isolate particular rooms
    • Place the most medically or situationally vulnerable people “upwind”
  • Room flushing: In public or shared indoor spaces, air cleanliness will be addressed before any unmasked activities, for example by:
    • Ensuring 3+ (preferably 5+) air changes, or equivalent air changes provided by filtration
    • Ensuring 6+ hours since last occupancy 
    • Ventilating the indoor space until CO2 levels are close to ambient (outdoor) CO2 levels

6.3 Masks and respirators

As part of our commitment to collective care and fostering safer spaces, Opera Mariposa maintains a mask requirement for in-person activities. All in-person team members will be provided with high-filtration masks (“respirators”), which are the only type of masks certified to properly protect against airborne hazards. Team members may also choose to wear their own masks, provided they are certified respirators (e.g., N95, KN95, CAN95, FFP2 or better) and do not have exhalation valves. 

Mariposa’s mask requirement applies:

  • During indoor Mariposa activities with more than one household “bubble” present
  • During outdoor activities when sufficient physical distancing cannot be maintained

The following exceptions apply:

  • One artist at a time may unmask for performance activities that do not permit mask-wearing, subject to prior risk assessment and approval
  • If an individual cannot wear a tight-fitting respirator (e.g., for medical reasons), Opera Mariposa will work with them to develop appropriate accommodations
  • If all team members already belong to the same household “bubble” and have otherwise passed screening/testing, masks are not required

Outdoor space will be provided for eating, drinking, and “mask breaks”, and team members can request outdoor breaks at any time. Opera Mariposa can also supply airtight drinking valves for those who wish to drink indoors while wearing a mask.

Additional respirators are available for free to any team members who wish to wear them in advance of, between, or following Opera Mariposa activities to further reduce risks of illness. 

Tips on mask-wearing:

6.4 Distancing and scheduling

While research shows COVID-19 and other airborne illnesses can travel much further than 6 feet, distance may still help reduce transmission risks when layered with other protections. To that end:

  • In-person activities such as rehearsals will be closed sessions, not open to guests or the general public
  • Venue access will be controlled, with staggered arrival times as needed, and team members checked to ensure that:
    • They have passed their health check and tested negative
    • They are wearing respirators correctly
    • They do not bring open food/beverages, animals (other than service animals), or guests (other than pre-screened personal attendants) on site
  • Occupancy limits will be posted for small/enclosed spaces like washrooms or elevators
  • Whenever possible, team members will have designated work areas, with floor markings or other indicators to encourage physical distancing
  • Team members are asked to distance if unmasking during outdoor snack breaks

6.5 Vaccination

Opera Mariposa asks all in-person team members to be as up-to-date as possible with COVID-19 vaccinations and other recommended vaccines. For this policy, “up to date” means you have received all recommended initial and booster vaccine doses no less than 1 week ago. For COVID-19, up-to-date vaccination also involves having received a vaccine dose within the last 6 months. 

For transparency: Mariposa’s previous (March 2024) health and safety policy required all in-person participants to have received a COVID vaccine within the last 6 months. As such, our current vaccine provisions represent a downgrade. We have made this change due to altered vaccine availability and accessibility in many regions, and not due to changes in the importance of up-to-date vaccination. 

We reserve the right to maintain a more robust vaccine requirement for specific projects or activities, proportionate to the risks, hazards, and team member vulnerabilities. Mariposa is also happy to provide any team member with a break or day off to get vaccinated.

Vaccination resources in BC:

6.6 Surface germs and allergens

While the risks of surface transmission from COVID-19 are considered low, a number of airborne illnesses and hazards can also transmit via direct contact and/or contaminated surfaces. As such, Opera Mariposa maintains the following protocols:

  • Shared equipment (including rental equipment) is washed, sanitized, and/or quarantined between uses
  • Hand washing facilities and/or sanitizing supplies are provided
  • Common touch points are reduced where possible, and routinely sanitized
  • Food is not currently offered in shared indoor workspaces, and food or beverages should not be consumed in mask-required areas except via drinking valve
  • At this time, no pets or animals are allowed in-venue during working periods, other than service animals

Recognizing that some cleaning and disinfecting products can themselves cause health impacts (e.g., due to overuse of harsh cleaning chemicals), Opera Mariposa prioritizes the use of less- or non-toxic cleaning products where possible.

6.7 Scent reduction

Due to their allergenic potential and air quality impacts, Opera Mariposa is in the process of reducing our use of scented and fragranced products. While we cannot currently guarantee all spaces are entirely scent-free, we:

  • Ask in-person participants to refrain from use of fragrances or scented products
  • Provide fragrance-free hand soap for restrooms
  • Provide robust indoor air quality measures to further reduce fragrance and chemical exposure
  • Invite in-person participants to share any specific allergens to be avoided

7. In the event of illness

7.1 Symptoms, exposures, and positive tests during screening

Any team members who develop symptoms of infectious illness (e.g., fever, cough, diarrhea), or who experience a known or probable exposure to COVID-19 or another contagious airborne illness (e.g., illness in their household), should alert Opera Mariposa and not attend activities in-person until they have tested for COVID-19. 

Team members who test positive on a rapid antigen test should repeat test for increased accuracy. Those who test negative may also be advised to test for other illnesses, offered molecular (PCR-style) testing, and/or advised to stay home while symptomatic. 

Anyone who develops symptoms of, or tests positive for, COVID-19 during Mariposa activities will be provided with resources about COVID and Long COVID, and access to N95-style masks if needed. 

Any team member with a confirmed or suspected case of a contagious airborne illness must complete their self-isolation period before participating in-person in further Mariposa activities. For COVID-19, this means that they should stay at home until symptoms of infectious illness resolve, AND they receive either one negative molecular test result, or 2-3 separate rapid antigen test results at least 48 hours apart. 

Due to the lower accuracy of rapid testing, the possibility of viral rebound, and the lack of home testing options for some airborne illnesses, Opera Mariposa reserves the right to adapt, postpone, or cancel in-person activities even with negative test results. 

7.2 In-venue illness

If a team member begins to experience unexpected symptoms of contagious illness during an in-person activity:

  • The team member should notify the COVID safety captain (or, for two-person meeting,  the other team member present) without approaching them, e.g., by phone or text 
  • The unwell team member will be moved outside or to an isolated area, to arrange for them to be sent home
  • The individual will be provided with tests and N95-style masks (if they do not have them already), alongside information and resources about COVID-19 and Long COVID
  • All activities will be suspended temporarily. If indoors, the space will be flushed (e.g., by turning on air cleaners on high, opening windows), and relevant surfaces will be sanitized
  • In the case of a two-person meeting, the activity will be concluded. In the case of a gathering, the COVID safety captain may declare the activity concluded, or choose to initiate a distanced/remote discussion to reach a team consensus about next steps, based on the specifics of the situation. Under no circumstances will anyone be required or pressured to remain present should they not feel comfortable doing so. If no consensus is reached, the safest/most conservative approach will be prioritized.  

7.3 Exposure events & notification

Should a positive case of COVID-19 or another airborne illness be identified during or following an in-person Mariposa activity, Opera Mariposa will (without sharing the individual’s name) notify all potentially-affected parties and provide follow-up instructions and resources. 

With layered safety protocols, team members may be less likely to be considered high-risk contacts. However, due to the extreme transmissibility of some airborne illnesses, Opera Mariposa always advises that individuals continue using layers of protection; keep testing; monitor for new symptoms, or changes to chronic symptoms; and when in doubt, stay home/reschedule. 

7.4 Sometimes, the show shouldn’t go on

Opera Mariposa recognizes that team members not coming in when sick, or leaving if they become unwell, may feel at odds with the traditional tenet that “the show must go on.” However, when it comes to contagious illnesses, creating safer spaces requires mutual effort and mutual trust. We rely on our team members to come forward should they have concerns or known exposure risks – and we emphasize that in some cases, adapting or postponing activities is by far the most responsible and professional course of action.

8. Further resources

8.1 Assessing your risks

8.2 Health and safety planning

8.3 Free health and safety supplies

8.4 More about why this matters