Local Conditions
Q: How should an agency review the local COVID-19 Community Level in order to determine appropriate COVID-19 workplace safety protocols for a Federal facility?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has set recommendations related to COVID-19 Community Levels, which measure the impact of COVID-19 illness on health and healthcare systems and inform the appropriate prevention strategies to utilize at a given time.
CDC has provided county-level data showing the COVID-19 Community Level for each county in the United States, as determined by CDC. Agencies should utilize that data in determining the COVID-19 Community Level for a given facility by looking to the COVID-19 Community Level for the county in which the facility is located.
Agencies should review the COVID-19 Community Level for each of their facilities on a weekly basis, to determine any changes that need to be made to agency COVID-19 workplace safety protocols for the upcoming week; for example, an agency could review the COVID-19 Community Level each Friday and implement any changes to agency safety protocols due to changes in the COVID-19 Community Level starting the following Monday.
Please reference this implementation guidance on COVID-19 Community Levels (Updated August 17, 2022; Originally Issued February 28, 2022; PDF, Download Adobe Reader) for further guidance that agencies should follow.