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CDC’s recommendations for the next 30 days of mitigation 

strategies for New Rochelle, New York (Westchester County), 

based on current situation with widespread COVID-19 

transmission and affected health care facilities

Note: Westchester County has recently implemented many interventions for mitigation of COVID-19 in 

New Rochelle, New York, consistent with CDC’s recently posted guidance 

(https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/index.html). 

Recommendations from Westchester County are detailed at https://health.westchestergov.com/2019-

novel-coronavirus and those from the New York State Department of Health can be found at 

https://www.health.ny.gov/diseases/communicable/coronavirus/

The following describes CDC recommendations for evidence-base community interventions for the 

situation in New Rochelle and will be the roadmap for other counties as needed. 

Bottom Line Up Front:

Due to widespread transmission in New Rochelle, New York (Westchester County), CDC recommends 

extensive community mitigation activities to support slowing the spread of respiratory virus infections. 

These approaches are used to minimize morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 and minimize 

social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Individuals, communities, businesses, and healthcare 

organizations are all part of a community mitigation strategy. Given the widespread community 

transmission in New Rochelle, New York, including involvement of faith-based organizations and health 

care exposures, substantial interventions at the community level should be implemented at this time, 

based on the urgency of protecting the health care system with expected rise in cases by slowing the 

spread within the community. 

Goals

The goals for using mitigation strategies for New Rochelle at this time are to protect: 

• Individuals at risk for severe illness, including and persons of any age with underlying health

conditions including immune suppression and especially seniors with underlying health conditions 

(See Appendix A). 

• The healthcare workforce and critical infrastructure workforces

These approaches are used to minimize morbidity and mortality caused by COVID-19 and minimize 

social and economic impacts of COVID-19. Individuals, communities, businesses, and healthcare 

organizations are all part of a community mitigation strategy. 

Implementation emphasizes:

• Emphasizing individual responsibility for implementation of recommended personal-level actions,

• Empowering businesses, schools, and community organizations to implement recommended actions,

particularly in ways that protect persons at risk of severe illness such as older adults and persons with
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serious underlying health conditions (e.g., people requiring dialysis , or those with congestive heart 

failure or emphysema)

• Focusing on settings that provide critical services to implement recommended actions to protect

critical infrastructure and individuals at risk of severe disease

• Minimizing disruptions to daily life to the extent possible

Table. Community mitigation strategies for New Rochelle, New York (Westchester County)

Every Individual and 

Family at Home

• Monitor local information about COVID-19 in your community.

• Practice personal protective measures (e.g. hand washing).

• Put household plan into action ( https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-

ncov/downloads/community-mitigation-strategy.pdf)

• Individuals at risk of severe illness should stay at home avoiding gatherings or other

situations of potential exposures, including travel, church attendance, social events

with 10 or more people.

• Other individuals without such risk factors should adapt to disruptions in routine

activities (e.g., school and/or work closures) by using remote participation such as

telework where feasible or online classes or home study (E-learning).

Every School/childcare • Schools should arrange for students at risk of severe illness to be able to implement 

individual plans for distance learning, e-learning. 

• Implement social distancing measures, e.g.:

o Cancel large gatherings (e.g., assemblies)

o Postpone athletic contests (basketball, football games) in the absence of

spectators

o Limit all classroom mixing

o Alter schedules to reduce mixing (e.g., stagger recess, entry/dismissal times)

o Limit inter-school interactions of all types

o Consider distance or e-learning in schools with higher risk populations (e.g.,

greater proportion of special needs children)

• Regular health checks (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom screening on arrival

at school) of students, staff, and visitors.

• Short-term dismissals for school and extracurricular activities as needed (e.g., if cases

in staff/students) for cleaning and contact tracing.

• Extend spring break by an additional two weeks to be made up at the end of the

standard term.

• Cancellation of all school-associated congregations, particularly those with

participation of high-risk individuals.

• Consider implementing distance learning if feasible.

Every assisted living 

facility and adult day 

programs 

• Implement social distancing measures, e.g.:

o Cancel large gatherings (e.g., group social events with 10 or more people)

o Alter schedules to reduce mixing (e.g., stagger meal, activity, arrival/departure

times)

o Limit programs with external staff

• Daily upon arrival temperature and respiratory symptom screening of attendees, staff.

• Staff should wear masks and wash hands thoroughly before entering and after exit of

room of inhabitants.

Community Mitigation Stratgies
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• Consider suspension of new admissions to facilities.

• Short-term closures as needed (e.g., if cases in staff, residents or clients who live 

elsewhere) for cleaning and contact tracing. 

• Longer-term closure or quarantine of facility until situation resolves. 

• Suspend visitor access but arrange for alternate means for family members to 

communicate (e.g., staff assist with phone calls or videoconferences with visitors).

• Exceptions for end-of-life family visits need to be considered, with limited access of 

visitors to other areas or people in the facility and these patients should be in a 

different areas to ensure other clients are not exposed to outside guests.

Every Workplace • Encourage staff to telework. 

• Expand sick leave policies.

• Implement social distancing measures, e.g.:

o Spacing workers at the worksite

o Staggering work schedules

o Decreasing social contacts in the workplace (limit in-person meetings)

o All break areas must accommodate distancing with regular disinfection of all 

eating surfaces

• Eliminate large work-related gatherings (e.g., staff meetings, after-work functions)

• Postpone non-essential work travel. 

• Regular health checks on arrival each day (e.g., temperature and respiratory symptom 

screening) of staff and visitors entering buildings. 

• Implement extended telework arrangements (when feasible).

• Ensure flexible leave policies for staff who need to stay home due to school/childcare 

dismissals and to encourage individuals to stay home if they are sick. 

• Cancel work-sponsored conferences, tradeshows, etc.

Every Community and 

Faith-based 

Organization

• Implement social distancing. Reduce activities (e.g., religious services, group 

congregation), especially for organizations with individuals at risk of severe illness. 

Consider offering video/audio of events. 

• Determine methods to continue providing support services to individuals at risk of 

severe disease (services, meals, checking in) while limiting group settings and 

exposures. 

• Cancel large gatherings (e.g., 250 people) or move to smaller groupings.

• Professional and college sporting events as well as concerts or any large crowd 

entertainment events should be cancelled or broadcast without audience 

participation.

• For organizations that serve high-risk communities, cancel gatherings of more than 10 

people and stagger access to support services.

• Move faith-based and community gatherings of any size to video-accessible venues or 

postpone/cancel.
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Healthcare settings 

and healthcare 

provider (includes 

outpatient, nursing 

homes/long-term care 

facilities, inpatient, 

telehealth) 

• Institute temperature/symptom checks for staff, visitors, limit visitor movement in the 

facility. 

• Implement triage before entering facilities (e.g. parking lot triage, front door); phone 

triage and telemedicine; limit unnecessary healthcare visits. 

• Actively monitor HCP absenteeism and respiratory illness among HCP and patients. 

• Actively monitor PPE supplies. 

• Establish processes to evaluate and test large numbers of patients and HCP with 

respiratory symptoms (e.g., designated clinics for people with fever, surge tent for 

overflow triage, offsite testing locations)

• Permit asymptomatic exposed HCP to work while wearing a facemask. 

• Cross train HCP for working in other units to support staffing shortages. 

• Restrict all visitors from facility entry to reduce facility-based transmission; exceptions 

for end-of-life visitors but restrict such visitors’ movements within the facility.

• Identify areas of operations that may be subject to alternative standards of care and 

implement necessary changes (e.g., allowing mildly symptomatic HCP to work while 

wearing a facemask). 

• Cancel elective and non-urgent procedures. 

• Establish cohort units or facilities for large numbers of patients. 

• Consider requiring all HCP to wear a facemask when in the facility depending on 

supply. 

• Consider suspension of new admissions to facilities. 
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Appendix A: Underlying medical conditions that may increase the risk of serious COVID-19 for 

individuals of any age. 

• Blood disorders (e.g., sickle cell disease or on blood thinners)

• Chronic kidney disease as defined by your doctor. Patient has been told to avoid or reduce the dose 

of medications because kidney disease, or is under treatment for kidney disease, including receiving 

dialysis 

• Chronic liver 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 in 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 conditions associated with impaired lung function or that require 

home oxygen

• Neurological and neurologic and neurodevelopment conditions [including disorders of the brain, 

spinal cord, 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].