Guidance Library: COVID-19

List of guidance documents available for COVID-19 response.

On this page:
Businesses / employers
Schools, child care, and higher education
Community
Facemasks and PPE
Health Care
Contact us

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• Minnesota Department of Health Process for Assessing Situational Risk for Transmission SARS-CoV-2 (PDF)
  
  
• Resuming Use of Water Fountains: COVID-19


• Quarantine Guidance for COVID-19 (PDF)
  Detailed version on who needs to quarantine, how to quarantine, and how long to quarantine.
  Updated 8/13/21

Businesses / employers

• Food Safety during the COVID-19 Pandemic
  Compilation of resources from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA), and other state and national agencies. Includes guidelines for the meatpacking industry.
  
  
• Guidance for Environmental Health Response to COVID-19 Cases in Regulated Business (PDF)
  Guidance for state and local environmental health (EH) specialists to expand the scope of the types of outbreaks to which they typically respond.
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• CDC: Workplaces and Businesses

Schools, child care, and higher education

• Recommended COVID-19 Decision Tree for People in Schools, Youth Programs, and Child Care Programs (PDF)
  This tool provides the decision-making guidance for schools, child care, youth programs (i.e., camp, sports, and other community activities).
  Updated 5/27/21
  
  
• Best Practices for Handling a Confirmed Case of COVID-19 (PDF)
  Information for schools, child care, youth programs, and camps.
  Updated 9/1/21
  
  
• Best Practice Recommendations for COVID-19 Prevention in Schools for the 2021-22 School Year (PDF)
  Strategies to reduce transmission of COVID-19. Using these best practice prevention strategies consistently protects students, teachers, staff, and other members of their households and creates a safer in-person environment.
  Updated 9/3/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Infection Prevention and Control Practices for Delivering Direct Student Support Services (PDF)
  This document provides strongly recommended practices to school staff on the type of protective equipment that will be needed to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission when delivering direct student support services.
  Updated 5/27/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Providing Support to Students in Their Homes (PDF)
  This document outlines recommendations for school district staff providing in-home services to meet individual student needs.
  Updated 9/3/21
  
  
• Guidance for Providing Nebulization Treatments (PDF)
  This document provides recommendations on the use of nebulizers and peak-flow meters in schools and other educational venues.
  Updated 7/9/21
  
  
• Ventilation Guidance for Schools: COVID-19
  Information for school administrators and facilities managers who are responsible for ventilation in buildings.
  
  
• Masking Recommendations for Child Care
  Recommendations for the use of face coverings in child care settings.
  
  
• CDC: Schools and Child Care Programs

Institutes of higher education

• Guidance for Mitigating COVID-19 at Higher Education Institutions (PDF)
  Updated 8/31/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Different Scenarios of COVID-19 Transmission At Higher Education Institutions (PDF)
  Updated 9/8/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Responding to COVID-19 Cases and Outbreaks in Higher Education (PDF)
  Updated 8/31/21
  
  
• Occupational Health and Safety Resources Related to COVID-19
  

• CDC: Colleges, Universities, and Higher Learning

Community

• Indoor Air Considerations: COVID-19
  General considerations for air flow, ventilation, circulation, and more.
  Updated 1/22/21

Sports activities

• COVID-19 Organized Sports Recommendations (PDF)
  Updated 9/17/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Testing for Minnesota Organized Sports Participants (PDF)
  6/30/21

Music, camps, and youth programs

• Recommendations for Music Activities and Performances During COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Prevention Guidance for Youth Programs and Day and Overnight Camps (PDF)
  Updated 9/1/21

Community- and faith-based organizations

• COVID-19 Guidance for Festivals, Fairs, and Large Gatherings (PDF)
  6/30/21
  
  
• Caring for People in Their Homes (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Planning Recommendations for Funeral Services and Ceremonies (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Hmong Funerals during COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• Mortuary Science
  Licensing and regulation of funeral establishments; includes COVID-19 specific guidance.
  
  
• CDC: Community Organizations and Gatherings

Congregate living and care facilities

• Guidance for Facilities Providing 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 9/9/21

Homeless service providers

• COVID-19: Families and People Living in Encampments (PDF)
  Updated 2/17/21
  
  
• Homeless Shelters and Other Congregate Settings: Interim Guidance for Providers (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Testing: Congregate Settings for People Experiencing Homelessness or Living in Emergency Shelters (PDF)
  Updated 2/2/21
  
  
• Interim Guidance about People Experiencing Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampment Settings (PDF)
  Updated 2/2/21
  
  
• CDC: Homeless Populations

Adult day centers

• Information for Adult Day Centers and Day Service Facilities with a Confirmed Case of COVID-19 (PDF)
  2/2/21
  
  
• CDC: Guidance for Adult Day Services Centers

Jails and correctional settings

• Interim Guidance for Correctional Settings Based on Community and Facility Transmission Levels of COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Grid for Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Updated 8/23/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Vaccine Facts in Correctional Facilities (PDF)
  4/8/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Investigation Toolkit for Correctional Settings (PDF)
  Updated 9/10/21
  
  
• CDC: Interim Guidance for SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Correctional and Detention Facilities
  
  
• 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 6/17/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Prevention and Management in Licensed Group Homes (PDF)
  Updated 9/9/21
  
  
• Recommended Protective Actions in Residential and Non-Residential Settings Licensed by DHS (PDF)
  8/4/21
  
  
• CDC: Shared and Congregate Housing

Facemasks and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Recommendations for Wearing Masks
  What everyone should know about wearing masks in public.
  
  
• Masking Recommendations for Child Care
  Recommendations for those caring for children of essential workers (child care providers, family child care providers, and school-age care).
  
  
• Crisis Standards of Care: Personal Protective Equipment
  Includes COVID-19 PPE grids for congregate care settings and home-care and hospice settings.
  
  
• CDC: Use of Masks to Slow the Spread of COVID-19

Health Care

• COVID-19 and Dental Care
  When to see a dentist and what counts as a dental emergency.
  
  
• COVID-19 Recommendations for Health Care Workers (PDF)
  Recommendations for health care workers who are ill or living with a person suspected of having COVID-19 regarding self-quarantine and restriction from work.
  Updated 8/6/21
  
  
• Staffing Options for Acute Care Facilities With Staff Shortages (PDF)
  Updated 12/18/20
  
  
• Defining Crisis Staffing Shortage in Congregate Care Facilities
  Crisis-level staffing criteria, strategies, and guidelines for congregate care facilities.
  Updated 7/8/21
  
  
• Guidance for Temporary Plastic Barriers in Health Care Settings
  12/18/20
  
  
• Cue COVID-19 Test
  Description, provider Instructions, and more.
  
  
• Interim Guidance for Discharge to Home or New/Re-Admission to Congregate Living Settings and Discontinuing Transmission-Based Precautions (PDF)
  Updated 6/4/21
  
  
• Prescribing Antibiotics in Outpatient Settings during the COVID-19 Pandemic (PDF)
  Information and considerations for providers related to antibiotics.
  4/9/21
  
  
• Best Practices for COVID-19 Testing and Vaccination Sites: Disability-related Accessibility

Infection prevention and control

• Aerosol-Generating Procedures and Patients with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19 (PDF)
  Updated 6/22/21
  
  
• Responding to and Monitoring COVID-19 Exposures in Health Care Settings (PDF)
  Interim guidance for assessing, monitoring, and protecting health care workers during widespread community transmission.
  Updated 8/6/21
  
  • Potential Exposure to Patients with COVID-19 in Inpatient Settings including Emergency Departments (ED) (PDF)
    Updated 4/21/21
    
  • Potential Exposure to COVID-19 in Outpatient Settings excluding Emergency Departments (ED) (PDF)
    Updated 8/23/21
    
  • Potential Exposure to Residents with COVID-19 in Long-term Care, Nursing Home, and Assisted Living Settings (PDF)
    Updated 8/23/21

Long-term care

• COVID-19 Toolkit: Information for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 3/8/21
  
  
• Principles for COVID-19 Cohorting in Long-term Care (PDF)
  11/25/20
  
  
• Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Fan Considerations for Long-term Care during COVID-19 (PDF)
  5/19/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Universal Eye Protection Risk Assessment for Long-term Care and Assisted Living-type Settings (PDF)
  6/25/21
  NOTE: MDH recommends facilities pause implementation of the Eye Protection Risk Assessment until further notice due to concerns regarding the Delta variant.
  
  
• Information about COVID-19 Vaccination in Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  1/22/21
  
  
• Vaccine Provider Models for COVID-19 Vaccination Efforts in Minnesota Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 9/8/21
  
  
• Long-term Care COVID-19 Vaccine Resources (PDF)
  Updated 3/31/21
  
  
• How to Complete the Long-term Care COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Form (PDF)
  Updated 5/26/21
  • LTC Weekly COVID-19 Vaccine Reporting Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)
    1/19/21
    
    
• Long-term Care Guidance for Outings
  Updated 9/8/21
  
  
• COVID-19 Guidance: Long-term Care Indoor Visitation for Nursing Facilities and Assisted Living-type Settings (PDF)
  Updated 5/20/21
  
  
• Long-term Care Visitation Guidance Flowchart for Outbreak Status (PDF)
  Updated 4/20/21
  
  
• Long-term Care Visitation Guidance Flowchart for Exceptions (PDF)
  3/17/21
  
  
• Essential Caregiver Guidance for Long-term Care Facilities
  Updated 6/30/21
  
  
• Outdoor Visitation Guidance for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 6/3/21
  
  
• Beauty Shop Guidance for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 4/13/21
  
  
• Guidance for Congregate Living Settings: Placing Resident-requested Electronic Monitoring Devices (PDF)
  Updated 2/9/21
  Previously called Guidance for Congregate Living Settings to Assist Residents Requesting Camera Placement.
  
  
• COVID-19 Testing Recommendations for Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 7/2/21
  
  
• Recommendations for Enhanced SARS-CoV-2 Testing in Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  8/2/21
  
  
• Essential Resources and Forms for COVID-19 Testing and Case Management in Long-term Care Facilities (PDF)
  Updated 3/22/21
  
  
• Road Map for Conducting a COVID-19 Point Prevalence Survey (PPS) (PDF)
  Updated 3/22/21

Health care facilities and systems

• Point Prevalence Survey Testing in Acute Care Facilities (PDF)
  12/10/20
  
  
• Access to Support in Hospital Settings: Patients with Disabilities and Pediatric Patients (PDF)
  Updated 3/2/21
  
  
• Vaccination During COVID-19
  Addresses the importance of continuing routine vaccination during the pandemic.
  
  
• CDC: Healthcare Workers: Information on COVID-19
  Clinical care, vaccine, infection control, settings, operations, guidance, and research.
  
  
• CDC: Information for Laboratories about Coronavirus (COVID-19)

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.