Staying Alert: Navigating COVID-19 Risk Toward a New Normal

Alert-level systems provide a framework to support clear decision-making, improve accountability and communicate with the public to increase healthy behavior change. This briefing note explains why alert-level systems for COVID-19 are effective, compares models from several countries, and provides the key principles and potential pitfalls to be aware of when developing these systems. It is intended to provide guidance to local, regional and national governments on best practices for alert-level systems, and on how to clearly communicate what behaviors people should adopt in response to changing COVID-19 conditions in their community.