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:
Community- and Faith-based Organizations
Congregate Living and Care Facilities (includes homeless shelters)
Adult Day and Senior Day Centers
Retirement Communities
Jails and Correctional Settings
Housing and Licensed Residential and Non-Residential Settings
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 Visiting People at Home (PDF)
For non-medical visits during the Minnesota "Stay at Home" executive order time period.
- Vehicle Gatherings / Parades Guidance (PDF)
Outlines recommendations that organizers of vehicle gatherings should consider when planning a vehicle event.
- DEED: Industry Guidance for Safely Reopening: Faith-based communities, places of worship, weddings, and funerals (PDF)
- CDC: Resources for Community- and Faith-Based Leaders
- CDC: Resources for Large Community Events & Mass Gatherings
- Mortuary Science
Includes COVID-19 specific guidance.
Congregate Living and Care Facilities
- 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)
- COVID-19 Interim Testing Recommendations: Congregate Settings for People Experiencing Homelessness and Individuals and Families Residing in Emergency Shelters (PDF)
- COVID-19-Related Bed, Capacity and/or Service Change Application Form (PDF)
- Minnesota Heading Home Alliance
For more information and guidance for shelter and congregate living (non-nursing home) providers.
- CDC: Resources to Support People Experiencing Homelessness
Adult Day and Senior Day Centers
Retirement Communities
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)
- Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): Guidance for Minnesota Correctional Facilities (PDF)
Slides from a webinar presented by the Minnesota Department of Health on April 28, 2020 discussing COVID-19 guidance for jails and correctional facilities.
- CDC: Resources for Correctional and Detention Facilities
Housing and Licensed Residential and Non-Residential Settings
- 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.
- Interim Guidance on the Prevention of COVID-19 for Employees and Residents of Licensed Group Homes (PDF)
Guidance for providers delivering 245-D licensed residential services in adult foster care homes, community residential settings, supervised living facilities, and intermediate care facilities.
Updated 5/12/20 - Interim Guidance on the Management of COVID-19 for Employees and Residents of Licensed Group Homes (PDF)
- 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.
- 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.
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.
COVID-19 Hotlines:
Interpreters available
Health questions:
651-201-3920 or 1-800-657-3903
Weekdays: 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Weekend: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Minnesota Helpline:
651-297-1304 or 1-800-657-3504
Weekdays: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Weekend: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
COVID-19 information in other languages:
- 2019 Novel Coronavirus
(Hmong) - Koronafayraska Cusub ee 2019
(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.
