COVID-19: Protect Yourself & Others

Other languages

• COVID-19: Tiv Thaiv Koj Tus Kheej & Lwm Tus (Hmong)
• COVID-19: Difaac Naftaada iyo dadka kale (Somali)
• COVID-19: Protéjase y proteja a otras personas (Spanish)

Updated 3/15/2024

On this page:
Core prevention strategies
Additional prevention strategies
Important times for prevention
     Sick, recovering, or exposed to COVID-19
     Higher risk of severe illness
     Increased illness in the community
Special settings
 

The virus that causes COVID-19 infections continues to spread, affecting people in Minnesota and throughout the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends important steps to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses, which can affect your nose, throat, and lungs, like COVID-19, influenza (flu), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), refer to CDC: Preventing Respiratory Viruses. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) also recommends these steps.

This page provides basic information on what you can do to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses. Taking these steps, called prevention strategies, can help keep ourselves, our loved ones, and our community healthier.

Core prevention strategies

Important steps you can take to protect yourself and others from viruses like COVID-19, flu, and RSV:

• Vaccination provides the best protection against becoming seriously ill from COVID-19.
• Improved hygiene includes many simple steps such as washing your hands and covering your cough.
• Cleaner air: Actions like opening windows or holding gatherings outside help to decrease the amount of virus in the air.

If you are sick or think you could be:

• Stay home when you are sick and take precautions to prevent spread.
• Treatment: Talk to your doctor, get medications early.

Refer to Sick, recovering, or exposed.

Additional prevention strategies

More steps to protect against respiratory viruses that can be added to the core prevention strategies above:

• Wear a mask
• Keep physical distance
• Test for respiratory viruses

Find out more about how to add these disease prevention steps into your life, CDC: Preventing Respiratory Viruses.

Important times for prevention

All of the prevention strategies can help to reduce the risk of becoming sick and spreading disease. Adding (layering) on more prevention strategies can be especially helpful when:

Sick, recovering, or exposed to COVID-19

For detailed guidance and timelines showing how long to stay home based on symptoms, visit CDC: Preventing Spread of Respiratory Viruses When You're Sick.

Higher risk of severe illness

If you, or people around you, have Risk Factors for Severe Illness from Respiratory Viruses (CDC), taking extra precautions, including additional strategies (masks, distancing, and tests), can help to prevent illness.

Groups who are at a higher risk of becoming very sick from respiratory viruses:

• Older adults
• Young children
• People with a weakened immune system (for example: someone going through certain cancer treatments)
• People with disabilities
• Pregnant people

Steps you can take:

• Layer (add on) the core prevention and additional prevention strategies for more protection.
• Check with your doctor:
  • You might benefit from an additional updated COVID-19 vaccine, and other vaccines may be recommended for you.
  • Ask if antiviral medications are right for you.
• If you have a weakened immune system, you may be eligible for a monoclonal antibody treatment to prevent COVID-19 in addition to COVID-19 vaccines.
  • Visit COVID-19 Medications for more details.

Increased illness in the community

Respiratory viruses are spread from person to person. When more people are sick in your community, you are at a higher risk of getting sick yourself. Both the CDC and MDH provide tools to help you stay informed about the level of respiratory viruses spreading in your community. Use this information, together with your own knowledge about any health risks that you, your family, and the people around you have, to decide when it might be important to layer on more prevention strategies.

• Review the Situation Update for COVID-19 in Minnesota.
• Use the CDC's "What's happening near you" tool on Protect yourself and others from Flu, COVID-19, and RSV to learn about levels of these respiratory viruses in your area and what you can do to protect yourself and others.
• CDC: Respiratory Virus Data Channel Weekly Snapshot
• Viral Respiratory Illness in Minnesota

Special settings

When groups of people live together or spend a lot of time in close contact with one another, there is more opportunity for respiratory viruses to spread. Settings such as long-term care and health care facilities therefore may have guidance that is different from what is recommended for the general population. Guidance may also be different because these populations have many people who are at high risk for severe illness. The links below provide helpful information which can help guide organizations in their decision-making:

• Guidance from the CDC for health care workers: Interim Guidance for Managing Healthcare Personnel with SARS-CoV-2 Infection or Exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
• Health care settings guidance, CDC: Infection Control Guidance: SARS-CoV-2.
• Group living and care facilities, such as a homeless shelter or correctional facility, can refer to Prisons, Detention Centers, & Homeless Service Sites: COVID-19 for more resources.
• Businesses, facilities, or other private settings are encouraged to follow MDH and CDC guidance, at a minimum. They may also choose to require longer stay-at-home periods or longer mask-wearing periods after exposure to someone who has COVID-19.