Community mitigation: get and keep America open

Actions that persons and communities can take to help slow the transmission of the virus in communities, according to the CDC

Key Concepts

• Slow transmission of disease. The goals for using mitigation strategies in communities with local COVID-19 transmission are to slow the transmission of disease and in particular to protect individuals at increased risk for severe illness, including older adults and persons of any age with underlying health conditions, and the healthcare and critical infrastructure workforces.
• Emphasize individual responsibility. Based on emphasizing individual responsibility for implementing recommended personal-level actions, empowering businesses, schools, and community organizations to implement recommended actions, particularly in ways that protect persons at increased risk of severe illness, focusing on settings that provide critical infrastructure or services to individuals at increased risk of severe illness, and minimizing disruptions to daily life to the extent possible.
• Tailor strategies to target population.Each community is unique, and appropriate mitigation strategies will vary based on the level of community transmission, characteristics of the community and their populations, and the local capacity to implement strategies. Consider all aspects of a community that might be impacted, including populations most vulnerable to severe illness and those that may be more impacted socially or economically, and select appropriate actions. Mitigation strategies can be scaled up or down depending on the evolving local situation. When developing mitigation plans, communities should identify ways to ensure the safety and social well-being of groups that may be especially impacted by mitigation strategies, including individuals at increased risk for severe illness.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/php/open-america/community-mitigation.html