Summary of Guidance for Minimizing the Impact of COVID-19…

COVID-19 Prevention Strategies

Monitoring of COVID-19 community levels to guide COVID-19 prevention efforts. Individuals can use information about the current level of impact of COVID-19 on their community to decide which prevention behaviors to use and when (all or at specific times), for critical illness Depending on your risk and for members of your household, their risk tolerance, and setting-specific factors. CDC’s COVID-19 community level reflects the current impact of COVID-19 on communities and identifies geographic areas that have severe COVID-19 based on hospitalization rates, hospital bed stays, and the incidence of COVID-19. May experience an increase in-19-related outcomes. Duration*** (1) COVID-19 prevention recommendations based on community levels have clear goals of reducing clinically significant disease and limiting pressure on the health care system. At all COVID-19 community levels (low, medium and high), the recommendations emphasize staying up to date with vaccination, improving ventilation, testing symptomatic individuals and those who have been exposed, and isolating infected individuals. At the moderate COVID-19 community level, recommended strategies include adding protection for individuals who are at high risk for serious illness (for example, the use of masks or respirators that provide a high level of protection to the wearer ). At the high COVID-19 community level, additional recommendations focus on all individuals wearing masks indoors in public and providing protection to high-risk populations.^I As SARS-CoV-2 continues to spread, changes in COVID-19 community levels for a jurisdiction may indicate when the use of certain containment strategies should be discontinued or increased, which may be due to a person’s serious illness or that of their family. depending on the level of risk. or social interaction. The COVID-19 community level provides a comprehensive framework for public health authorities and jurisdictions to assess the need for public health interventions based on the local context by combining local information to use and adapt as needed.

non-drug intervention. Implementation of multiple prevention strategies helps protect individual individuals and communities from SARS-CoV-2 exposure and reduces the risk of clinically significant disease and death by reducing the risk of infection (table). Implementation of a number of non-pharmaceutical preventive interventions can complement the use of vaccines and therapeutics, particularly among individuals with an increase in the COVID-19 community level and at high risk for serious disease. The CDC’s COVID-19 prevention recommendations no longer differentiate based on a person’s vaccination status because breakthrough infections do occur, although they are generally mild (16), and individuals who have had COVID-19 but have not been vaccinated have some degree of protection against serious illness from their previous infection (17In addition to recommended strategies at all COVID-19 community levels, education and messaging complement recommendations for risk-based prevention strategies to help individual individuals understand their risk for a medically significant disease.

Testing for current infection. Diagnostic testing allows for early detection of infections so that infected individuals can take action to reduce their risk to reduce the risk of serious illness and death and receive treatment when medically indicated. All individuals should be tested for active infection when they are symptomatic or if they have a known or suspected exposure to someone with COVID-19. When considering implementing screening testing for asymptomatic individuals with no known risk, public health officials may consider prioritizing high-risk community settings, such as long-term care facilities, homeless shelters, and correctional facilities. , and workplace settings that include group housing with limited access to medical care.^I In this type of high-risk community setting, screening testing can complement diagnostic testing of symptomatic individuals by identifying asymptomatic infected individuals (18,19When implemented, screening testing strategies should include all individuals, regardless of vaccination status. Screening testing may not be cost-effective in the general community setting, especially if the COVID-19 prevalence is low (20,21,

Solitude. Symptomatic or infected persons should be isolated immediately, and infected persons should remain in isolation for 5 days and wear well-fitting and high-quality masks or respirators if they are around others. Infected individuals may end isolation after 5 days, only when they have been without fever for 24 hours without drug use and all other symptoms have improved, and they should be given a mask at home and around others in public. or continue to wear a respirator. day 10^I (figure) (22,23) Individuals who have access to an antigen test and who choose to use the test to determine when they can stop masking should wait at least 6 days for the first test and they will have a low fever. Are without fever for 24 hours without the use of anti-inflammatory drugs and all other symptoms have improved. The use of two antigen tests with 48 hours between tests provides more reliable information due to better test sensitivity (24) Two consecutive test results must be negative for individuals to stop masking. If either test result is positive, individuals should continue to wear a mask around the others and continue to be tested every 48 hours until they have two successive negative results. ,

Management of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. The CDC now recommends case screening and contact tracing only in health care settings and some high-risk community settings.^I In all other circumstances, public health efforts may focus on case notification and provision of information and resources to exposed individuals regarding access to testing. Individuals who have recently had confirmed or suspected contact with an infected person should wear a mask in public indoors for 10 days and for 5 days after exposure (or earlier, if they are symptomatic) ) test, regardless of their vaccination status. ,^I In light of high population levels of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (7,16), and to limit social and economic impacts, the quarantine of exposed individuals is no longer recommended, regardless of vaccination status.