Strategies can reduce COVID-19 spread

As COVID-19 continues to spread even as vaccines arrive, public health officials say that everyone should continue to take action to save lives by adhering to the following public health strategies:

• Wear masks – Use face masks consistently and correctly, including within the household if there is a person with COVID-19 or a person with a known or possible exposure.
• Keep distance/limit contacts – Maintain physical distance of at least six feet from other people when possible and limit number of contacts with people outside the immediate household.
• Avoid gatherings – Avoid nonessential indoor spaces and crowded outdoor settings.
• Identify & isolate cases – Get tested when exposed to a person with COVID-19, have a possible exposure or when experiencing symptoms. Infected individuals, with or without symptoms, should isolate promptly. Exposed individuals should quarantine.
• Conduct contact tracing & quarantine – Individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 should provide names of known contacts. Close contacts should answer the call from the health department, adhere to quarantine and get tested.
• Protect high-risk groups – Individuals with underlying medical conditions or risk factors that make them more likely to get very sick or die should limit contact with people who do not live with them and avoid nonessential indoor spaces.
• Protect healthcare workers – Essential workers should employ all health strategies to reduce their risk.
• Postpone travel – Those who choose to travel by air should follow recommendations for testing before and after travel.
• Wash hands – Increase room air ventilation. Wash hands often.
• Vaccinate widely – Get vaccinated when appropriate. Continue to follow all preventive measures until an effective vaccine is widely available and enough people have been vaccinated.

More information about staying safe during the COVID-19 pandemic is posted online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus.