Congregate Settings and Care Facilities: COVID-19

On this page:
Correctional settings and homeless services sites
     Operational and response guidance
     Testing and case reporting
     Therapeutics
     Vaccination
     Data and trends
     Shelter funding for staffing and outbreak support
DHS licensed residential and nonresidential settings
ICF-IID

These settings include homeless service providers and shelters, correctional settings, Department of Human Services (DHS) licensed care settings, and intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ICF-IID).

Guidance for long-term care, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities can be found at Long-term Care: COVID-19.

Correctional settings and homeless services sites

Contacts, email updates, and webinars

Contact the COVID-19 highly impacted settings unit at Health.R-congregate@state.mn.us.

Sign up to receive infectious disease for congregate living email updates from MDH.

Subscribe to Email Updates for American Indian Community COVID-19 Resources

Find a local or tribal health department or community health board.

Visit Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness: Webinars to register for the weekly shelter providers webinar and review slides from past webinars.

Operational and response guidance

• COVID-19 Investigation Toolkit for Homeless and Other Congregate Settings (PDF)
  Includes guidance for how to respond to COVID-19 cases in the facility and answers common questions.
  Updated 4/4/22
• COVID-19 Investigational Toolkit for Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Includes guidance for how to respond to COVID-19 cases in the facility and answers common questions.
  Updated 4/4/22
• Shelter-in-place Guidance During COVID-19 Surges in Homeless Shelters (PDF)
  Includes guidance for managing onsite-isolation of COVID-19 positive patients in congregate living settings.
  Updated 2/7/23
• Strategies to Mitigate Resource Constraints During COVID-19 Surges in Shelter and Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Includes guidance for how to prioritize COVID-19 mitigation activities during times of a surge in cases or when resources are limited and it is not possible to continue all mitigation activities.
  3/3/22
• CDC: Guidance on Management of COVID-19 in Homeless Service Sites and in Correctional and Detention Facilities

Testing and case reporting

• COVID-19 Testing and Case Reporting Resources for Shelter and Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Provides a list of COVID-19 testing resources available through MDH, offers advice on selecting an appropriate testing strategy, and walks through the requirements for reporting results.
  Updated 5/1/23
• COVID-19 Case Reporting Form for Congregate Living Settings
  Report positive test results from over-the-counter tests via this online form.
• Highly Impacted Settings Facility-wide Testing Request Form
  Online form to request a testing event or testing supplies through Homeland Health Specialist Inc (HHSI) (pop-up testing or specimen processing). Please refer to COVID-19 Testing and Case Reporting Resources for Shelter and Correctional Settings document to determine if this is the appropriate strategy for your facility.
• Minnesota Department of Administration: COVID-19 Testing Master Contract Program
• COVID-19 Community Testing Sites
  Information about community testing site locations.

Therapeutics

• COVID-19 Therapeutics Checklist for Shelter and Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Updated 2/7/23
• COVID-19 Therapeutics Navigator Request Form
  Online form to request the assistance of a navigator to help eligible shelter residents access therapeutics. Navigators may be able to support staff and/or patients with the following activities:
  • Identify a health care provider to conduct medical assessment and prescribe COVID-19 therapeutics.
  • Schedule medical appointments including telehealth visits.
  • Arrange transportation for medical visits and prescription pick-up or delivery.
• Cue Health: COVID-19 Treatment in MN
  This telehealth program is for Minnesota residents who have tested positive for COVID-19 to receive at-home assessment and treatment at no cost.
• COVID-19 Medications
  Information about medications to prevent and treat COVID-19, including who may benefit from treatment and how to access treatment.
• Don’t Delay: Get COVID-19 Medications Right Away (PDF) 
  Poster explaining how to access COVID-19 treatment. To be downloaded and posted in shelter resident areas.

Vaccination

• COVID-19 Vaccination Event Request Form for Congregate Settings
  Online form to request vaccine clinics for COVID-19 first shots, second shots, and boosters, as well as the annual influenza vaccine.
• COVID-19 Vaccine Facts in Correctional Facilities (PDF)
  Printable information on COVID-19 vaccines that can be shared with staff and residents in correctional facilities.
  Updated 12/13/22
• COVID-19 Vaccine Confidence in Minnesota's Prisons and Jails
  Includes a series of videos highlighting personal COVID-19 vaccination experiences.

Data and trends

• Situation Update for COVID-19
  Includes cases associated with high risk congregate living settings, vaccine data, links to CDC community levels, wastewater surveillance data, and more.
• Department of Corrections (DOC) COVID-19 Updates

Shelter funding for staffing and outbreak support

• Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness: State and Federal Funding Resources
  Includes applications for accessing shelter outbreak response funding and the Minnesota shelter emergency staffing pool.

DHS licensed residential and nonresidential settings

• Recommended Protective Actions in Residential and Nonresidential Settings Licensed by DHS (PDF)
  This document outlines recommendations for protective actions for settings licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS).
  Updated 11/22/22
  DHS-licensed settings that this guidance applies to includes: adult foster care, chemical dependency residential treatment facilities, children's residential facilities, children's residential facilities with a mental health certification and/or chemical dependency certification, community residential settings, intensive residential treatment services, mental health residential treatment facilities, psychiatric residential treatment facilities, withdrawal management and detox services facilities, adult day centers, and day service facilities.
   
• CDC: COVID-19 Guidance for Adult Day Services Centers
• CDC: Guidance for Direct Service Providers

ICF-IID

Intermediate care facilities for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (ICF-IID) must continue to follow federal guidance and infection prevention and control recommendations from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

• CMS: Policy and Memos to States and Regions
• CDC: Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Healthcare Personnel During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic