The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
recently released new guidance (the
Guidance) and a flowchart (the
Flowchart) detailing how states can safely reopen businesses and
schools in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 60-page guidance
document covers a wide range of topics, including surveilling,
contact tracing, and controlling COVID-19 cases.
The Guidance provides generalized recommendations, while
simultaneously cautioning employers to tailor the Guidance based on
the state and industry within which the employer operates. For each
set of recommendations, the CDC creates a three-step program to
safely scale up operations, with Step One requiring the most
stringent measures of mitigation and Step Three requiring the
least. The Guidance also provides more specific recommendations
that highlight additional considerations for reopening mass
transit, childcare programs, day camps, restaurants, and bars, as
well as businesses that employ workers at
