Community Settings: COVID-19

When an outbreak of a disease reaches the point where it is actively spreading in a community, community organizations need to take actions too. By taking these actions, community organizations can help slow the spread and reduce demands on the health care sector so the most seriously ill people get the supportive care they need.

On this page:
Sports and Activities
Community- and Faith-based Organizations
Congregate Living and Care Facilities
     Homeless Service Providers
     Adult Day Centers
     Retirement Communities
     Jails and Correctional Settings
     Housing and Licensed Residential and Non-Residential Settings

Sports and Activities

• COVID-19 Sports Guidance for Youth and Adults (PDF)
  Updated 7/22/20
  • Frequently Asked Questions: Updated COVID-19 Guidance for Youth and Adult Sports (PDF)
    Updated 7/22/20
    
    
• Reopening of Public Swimming Pool and Aquatic Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 7/30/20

Community- and Faith-based Organizations

• Know where to find local information on COVID-19 and local trends of COVID-19 cases.
• Identify safe ways to serve those that are at high risk or vulnerable (outreach, assistance, etc.).
• Review, update, or develop emergency plans for the organization, with special consideration for people at increased risk of severe illness.
• Encourage personal protective measures among organization/members and staff (e.g., stay home when sick, hand-washing, respiratory etiquette).
• Clean frequently touched surfaces at organization gathering points daily.
• Ensure hand hygiene supplies are readily available in buildings.
  
  
• Guidance for Caring for People in Their Homes (PDF)
  Updated 7/22/20
  
  
• Guidance for Vehicle Gatherings, Parades, and Drive-ins (PDF)
  Outlines recommendations that organizers of vehicle gatherings should consider when planning a vehicle event.
  Updated 7/28/20
  
  
• Guidance for Safe Celebrations and Events (PDF)
  Updated 7/31/20
  
  
• Guidance for Gatherings: Faith-based Communities, Places of Worship, and Ceremonies (PDF)
  Updated 7/28/20
  
  
• Industry Guidance for Safely Reopening: Faith-Based Communities, Places of Worship, Weddings, and Funerals (PDF)
  7/22/20
  
  
• Guidance for Hmong Funerals during COVID-19 (PDF)
  8/4/20
  • Hmong: Guidance for Hmong Funerals during COVID-19 (PDF)
  
  
• CDC: Community- and Faith-Based Organizations
  
  
• CDC: Gatherings and Community Events
  
  
• Mortuary Science
  Includes COVID-19 specific guidance.

Congregate Living and Care Facilities

• COVID-19-Related Bed, Capacity and/or Service Change Application Form (PDF)
  4/10/20
  
  
• Interim Guidance for Facilities Providing Non-Emergency Transportation Services during COVID-19 (PDF)
  Guidance for Home and Community-Based Service (HCBS) providers, including day services and residential providers, when offering transportation services to high-risk participants in order to best protect drivers and occupants.
  Updated 7/31/20
  
  
• Minnesota Heading Home Alliance
  For more information and guidance for shelter and congregate living (non-nursing home) providers.
  

Homeless Service Providers

• COVID-19: Families and People Living in Encampments (PDF)
  6/30/20
  
  
• Homeless Service Settings: Interim Guidance for Providers (PDF)
  These recommendations apply to homeless services settings and encampments.
  Updated 5/10/20
  
  
• Guidance for Work Exclusion of Homeless Service Providers Exposed to a Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Case (PDF)
  6/3/20
  
  
• COVID-19 Interim Testing Recommendations: Congregate Settings for People Experiencing Homelessness and Individuals and Families Residing in Emergency Shelters (PDF)
  7/20/20
  
  
• Interim Guidance about People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampment Settings (PDF)
  8/7/20
  
  
• CDC: Resources to Support People Experiencing Homelessness

Adult Day Centers

• Interim Guidance for Adult Day Centers to Reduce the Risk and Spread of COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 7/30/20
  

Retirement Communities

• CDC: Retirement Communities and Independent Living

Jails and Correctional Settings

• Jails and Correctional Settings: Interim Guidance for Responding to Cases of Confirmed or Suspected COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 5/1/20
  
  
• COVID-19 Testing Recommendations for Jails, Prisons, and Detention Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 6/2/20
  
  
• Guidance for Work Exclusion of Law Enforcement Personnel Exposed to a Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 Case (PDF)
  6/3/20
  
  
• COVID-19 Testing Guidance for Minnesota Correctional Facilities and Work Exclusion Guidance for Law Enforcement Personnel (PDF)
  Slides from a webinar presented by the Minnesota Department of Health.
  6/3/20
  
  
• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Guidance for Minnesota Correctional Facilities (PDF)
  Slides from a webinar presented by the Minnesota Department of Health.
  4/28/20
  
  
• Minnesota Judicial Branch COVID-19 Information
  
  
• CDC: Correctional and Detention Facilities

Housing and Licensed Residential and Non-Residential Settings

• Questions and Answers for Staff, Families, and Clients of Children's Residential Facilities: COVID-19
  Updated 7/31/20
  
  
• Guidance for Building Managers in Congregate and High-Rise Housing (PDF)
  Guidance for congregate housing, including apartment buildings, public housing, and other settings where groups of people or families live.
  Updated 5/11/20
  
  
• Interim Guidance on the Prevention of COVID-19 for Employees and Persons Who Use Services in Licensed Group Homes (PDF)
  Guidance for providers delivering 245D licensed residential services in adult foster care homes, community residential settings, supervised living facilities, and intermediate care facilities.
  Updated 8/3/20
  
  
• Interim Guidance on the Management of COVID-19 for Employees and Persons Who Use Services in Licensed Group Homes (PDF)
  Updated 8/4/20
  
  
• Updated Guidance for MDH-Licensed Providers of Residential Settings with At-Risk Residents | COVID-19 (PDF)
  This guidance applies to all providers licensed by MDH where individuals at risk receive services.
  3/16/20
  
  
• Interim Guidance for the Prevention of COVID-19 in DHS-Licensed Residential and Non-Residential Settings with At-Risk Persons (PDF)
  This guidance expands recommendations to DHS-licensed programs that provide residential or non-residential services in congregate settings.
  3/31/20

Contact us

• IDEPC Comment Form
  Use this form to contact the Minnesota Department of Health for questions or comments about health related issues or this web page.
• Contact the State of Minnesota
  Use this contact form for questions or comments related to businesses and employment or other non-health related issues.

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Minnesota Helpline:

For questions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, call 651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504
Mon.-Fri.: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mental Health Crisis Line - Call: **CRISIS (**274747)

COVID-19 information in other languages:

• Kab Mob Khaus Las Nas Vais Lav 2019 (COVID-19)
  (Hmong)
• Cudurka Koronafayras 2019 (COVID-19)
  (Somali)
• Enfermedad del Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19)
  (Spanish)
• American Sign Language (ASL) Videos

Contact us:

If you have questions or comments about this page, use our IDEPC Comment Form or call 651-201-5414 for the MDH Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention and Control Division.