With many illnesses, older adults and people with disabilities face higher risks of contracting the disease and/or experiencing complications, particularly if they also have chronic medical conditions. Consequently, there often are additional prevention and treatment recommendations for these populations. That currently is not the case for COVID-19.

At this time, CDC recommends that everyone, regardless of age or disability, take the same precautions to avoid illness. These include everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of all respiratory diseases, including colds, flu and COVID-19.

ACL (Administration for Community Living) has posted those recommended preventive actions, as well as links to CDC resources for COVID-19 and emergency preparedness resources for the aging and disability networks at ACL.gov/COVID-19. They will update this page as the situation develops in an effort to make it easier to find the latest information. If specific guidance for older adults and people with disabilities is issued, and as state and local resources are available, you will find them on this page.

In addition, ACL recommends following state and local health department communications for the best information and accurate instructions for your community, and they recommend the CDC website as the best source for comprehensive information about the national response.