The Emerson Los Angeles program may begin the fall semester online and later transition to in-person classes, according to an email sent to ELA students Friday afternoon. 

Allison Sampson, vice president and executive director of ELA, wrote that the school is still waiting for approval to reopen from LA county. ELA students could also potentially stay on the LA campus through Thanksgiving break when students at the Boston campus are being sent home for the remainder of the semester.

Students attending ELA take courses at the college’s Los Angeles campus while participating in a semester-long internship program in their field of study.

The email comes amid soaring COVID-19 cases in LA County and the state of California. Governor Gavin Newsom closed bars, indoor restaurants, zoos, and museums in the county last week after the area reported an average of nearly 2,100 new cases per day. 

LA County is currently in phase three of five in its reopening, which allows colleges and universities to reopen.