The COVID-19 Resource Centre, hosted by Elsevier, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted reuse and analysis rights, as long as the original source is acknowledged. The CDC's guidelines for isolation precautions in hospitals have been updated to include disease-specific isolation measures, replacing the previous category-specific system. The new guidelines aim to balance practicality and effectiveness, minimizing unnecessary precautions while ensuring the interruption of transmission. The guidelines cover various isolation categories, including Strict Isolation, Respiratory Isolation, Enteric Precautions, Contact Isolation, Tuberculosis Isolation, Drainage/Secretion Precautions, and Blood/Body Fluid Precautions. Each category has specific recommendations for patient care, equipment use, and environmental control to prevent the spread of infections. The spread of infection in hospitals involves three elements: a source of infecting organisms, a susceptible host, and a means of transmission. Isolation precautions are designed to prevent the spread of microorganisms among patients, personnel, and visitors. The guidelines emphasize the importance of handwashing, private rooms, masks, gowns, gloves, and proper handling of contaminated articles to minimize the risk of transmission. The guidelines provide detailed techniques and recommendations for implementing isolation precautions, including handwashing, use of private rooms, masks, gowns, gloves, and proper handling of contaminated articles. They also cover the use of disposable and reusable patient-care equipment, needles and syringes, thermometers, linens, dishes, drinking water, dressings, tissues, urine and feces, laboratory specimens, and patient charts. Visitors and routine cleaning procedures are also addressed, along with guidelines for transporting infected or colonized patients and postmortem handling of bodies. The CDC recommends two isolation systems: category-specific isolation precautions and disease-specific isolation precautions. Category-specific isolation precautions group diseases into seven categories, while disease-specific isolation precautions are tailored to individual diseases or conditions. The guidelines provide specific recommendations for each category and disease, emphasizing the importance of adapting the system to the hospital's unique needs and circumstances.The COVID-19 Resource Centre, hosted by Elsevier, provides free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus. Elsevier grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research available in PubMed Central and other public repositories, with unrestricted reuse and analysis rights, as long as the original source is acknowledged. The CDC's guidelines for isolation precautions in hospitals have been updated to include disease-specific isolation measures, replacing the previous category-specific system. The new guidelines aim to balance practicality and effectiveness, minimizing unnecessary precautions while ensuring the interruption of transmission. The guidelines cover various isolation categories, including Strict Isolation, Respiratory Isolation, Enteric Precautions, Contact Isolation, Tuberculosis Isolation, Drainage/Secretion Precautions, and Blood/Body Fluid Precautions. Each category has specific recommendations for patient care, equipment use, and environmental control to prevent the spread of infections. The spread of infection in hospitals involves three elements: a source of infecting organisms, a susceptible host, and a means of transmission. Isolation precautions are designed to prevent the spread of microorganisms among patients, personnel, and visitors. The guidelines emphasize the importance of handwashing, private rooms, masks, gowns, gloves, and proper handling of contaminated articles to minimize the risk of transmission. The guidelines provide detailed techniques and recommendations for implementing isolation precautions, including handwashing, use of private rooms, masks, gowns, gloves, and proper handling of contaminated articles. They also cover the use of disposable and reusable patient-care equipment, needles and syringes, thermometers, linens, dishes, drinking water, dressings, tissues, urine and feces, laboratory specimens, and patient charts. Visitors and routine cleaning procedures are also addressed, along with guidelines for transporting infected or colonized patients and postmortem handling of bodies. The CDC recommends two isolation systems: category-specific isolation precautions and disease-specific isolation precautions. Category-specific isolation precautions group diseases into seven categories, while disease-specific isolation precautions are tailored to individual diseases or conditions. The guidelines provide specific recommendations for each category and disease, emphasizing the importance of adapting the system to the hospital's unique needs and circumstances.