Community: A group of people living in a defined geographic area, who are linked by social ties and engage in joint activities, such as work or recreation.

Community Spread: Occurs where individuals have been infected with the virus in an area and cannot specifically identify the source fo the infection, or do not know how or where they became infected (e.g., cannot tie the illness to a specific event, like a cruise).

  • Community Spread = 1-2 identified community spread cases
    Individuals 60 years of age or older with underlying conditions should stay at home and avoid gatherings or other situations of potential exposures, including travel to affected areas.
  • Implement personal protective measures
    • Stay home when sick
    • Wash their hands
    • Cover coughs and sneezes
  • Clean frequently touched surfaces daily
  • Reduce activities (e.g., >250 people, the specific threshold is a the discretion of the community) or move to smaller groupings.
  • Consider personal social distancing measures: avoid large gatherings (e.g., assemblies), limit the number of attendees per gathering, and consider distance or working remotely or online learning when possible.
  • Encourage staff to telework (when feasible), particularly individuals at increased risk of severe illness.
  • Limit non-essential work travel and gatherings.
  • Follow CDC guidance regarding school closures. If a school based case is identified, implement short-term suspension for school cleaning and contact tracing. Alter schedules to reduce mixing (e.g., stagger recess, entry/dismissal times).
  • Cancel extracurricular activities as needed.
  • Find local information on COVID-19 and local trends of COVID-19 cases at the IDPH web page.

Underlying Health Conditions: Health conditions that may increase the risk of serious COVID-19 include individuals with:

  • Blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease or on blood thinners).
  • Chronic kidney disease as defined by your doctor. (e.g., cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis) Patient has been told to avoid or reduce the dose of medications because liver disease or is under treatment for liver disease.
  • Compromised immune system (immunosuppression) (e.g., seeing a doctor for cancer and treatment such as chemotherapy or radiation, received an organ or bone marrow transplant, taking high doses of corticosteroids or other immunosuppressant medications, HIV or AIDS).
  • Current or recent pregnancy within the last two weeks.
  • Endocrine disorders (e.g., diabetes mellitus).
  • Metabolic disorders (such as inherited metabolic disorders and mitochondrial disorders).
  • Heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease).
  • Lung disease including asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (chronic bronchitis or emphysema) or other chronic condistions assoiciated with impaired lung function or that require home oxygen.
  • Neurological and neurologic and nuerodevelopment conditions (including discorders of the brain, spinal cor, peripheral nerve, and muscle such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy [seizure disorders], stroke, intellectual disability, moderate to severe developmental delay, muscular dystrophy, or spinal cord injury.

More Resources:
IDPH – COVID-19 Webpage
CDC Webpage