A pregnant woman in a hazmat suit and a mask crosses a street in the Elmhurst neighborhood of Queens, on Monday in New York City. The city has sketched plans to resume some manufacturing and construction activity on May 15 in low COVID-19 risk parts of the state. Photo: AFP

 The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released two new resources to assist states, localities as well as businesses and community organizations in reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a CDC release on Wednesday.

The first, CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President's Plan for Opening America Up Again, summarizes CDC's initiatives, activities, and tools in support of the whole-of-government response to COVID-19.

The document includes information on general and healthcare surveillance as well as guidance on infection control, contact tracing, and testing.

The second resource is a set of health considerations to be used by summer camps, schools, youth sports organizations, institutes of higher education, and restaurants and bars, that are open.

The documents focus on four categories of safeguards: promoting behaviors to reduce spread, maintaining healthy environments, maintaining healthy operations, and preparing for when someone gets sick.

The CDC will work with state, tribal, local, and territorial leaders to provide technical assistance, and resources that can help support decisions about how Americans begin to re-engage in civic life while adhering to mitigation strategies such as social distancing, hand-washing and wearing face coverings, said the release.