Society guideline links: COVID-19 – General guidelines for management

Introduction — 

This topic includes links to society and government-sponsored guidelines from selected countries and regions around the world. We will update these links periodically; newer versions of some guidelines may be available on each society's website. Some societies may require users to log in to access their guidelines.

The recommendations in the following guidelines may vary from those that appear in UpToDate topic reviews. Readers who are looking for UpToDate topic reviews should use the UpToDate search box to find the relevant content.

Management for specific patient populations, along with links to other COVID-19 related guidelines, are provided separately. (See "Society guideline links: COVID-19 – Index of guideline topics".)

International

●World Health Organization (WHO): Therapeutics and COVID-19 – Living guideline (2023)

●WHO: Living guidance for clinical management of COVID-19 (2021)

●WHO: Corticosteroids for COVID-19 – Living guidance (2020)

●WHO: Home care for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and management of their contacts – Interim guidance (2020)

●WHO: Use of chest imaging in COVID-19 – A rapid advice guide (2020)

Canada

●Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC): National case definition – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) (2023)

●PHAC: Considerations for the use of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir to treat COVID-19 in the context of limited supply (2022)

●PHAC: COVID-19 signs, symptoms, and severity of disease – A clinician guide (2022)

●Updated guidance on use and prioritization of monoclonal antibody therapy for treatment of COVID-19 in adolescents (2022)

●Canadian Society of Thoracic Radiology (CSTR) and Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR): Statement on COVID-19 (2020)

●Multicenter interim guidance on use of antivirals for children with COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 (2020)

United States

●Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): COVID-19 – For professionals

•Clinical care quick reference

•Clinical considerations for special populations

•Underlying conditions and the higher risk for severe COVID-19 – Information for healthcare providers

●Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA): Guidelines on the treatment and management of patients with COVID-19 (2021, updated 2024)

●Updated guidance on use and prioritization of monoclonal antibody therapy for treatment of COVID-19 in adolescents (2022)

●American Thoracic Society (ATS)/European Respiratory Society (ERS): Updated guidance on the management of COVID-19 (2020)

●Multicenter interim guidance on use of antivirals for children with COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 (2020)

Europe

●European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC): Case management and treatment of COVID-19 (2023)

●European Respiratory Society (ERS): Statement on long COVID-19 follow-up (2022)

●European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID): COVID-19 living guidelines for drug treatment and clinical management (2022)

●ESCMID: Rapid guidelines for assessment and management of long COVID (2022)

●American Thoracic Society (ATS)/ERS: Updated guidance on the management of COVID-19 (2020)

●European Society for Paediatric Radiology (ESPR): Practical recommendations for management strategies for children with COVID-19 (2020)

United Kingdom

●National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): COVID-19 rapid guideline – Managing COVID-19 (2021, updated 2025)

●NICE: COVID-19 rapid guideline – Managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 (2020, updated 2024)

●Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN): Guideline on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19 (2021)

●UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA): Guidance on COVID-19 – Investigation and management of suspected SARS-CoV-2 reinfections (2021)

●British Society of Thoracic Imaging (BSTI): Thoracic imaging in COVID-19 infection – Guidance for the reporting radiologist (2020)

●Diabetes UK, Joint British Diabetes Societies (JBDS), and Association of British Clinical Diabetologists (ABCD): Concise advice on Inpatient Diabetes (COVID: Diabetes) – Dexamethasone/glucocorticosteroid therapy in COVID-19 patients: Implications and guidance for the management of blood glucose in people with and without diabetes (2020)

Australia–New Zealand

●National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce: Living guidelines on caring for people with COVID-19 (2023)

●New South Wales (NSW) Health: Clinical practice guide for assessment and management of adults, children, and young people with symptoms of long COVID – Guidance for NSW health clinicians (2023)

●NSW Health: Care of adult patients with COVID-19 in acute inpatient wards (2021)

Japan

●[In Japanese] Choosing Wisely Japan: Do not prescribe unproven therapeutic agents to COVID-19 patients except in approved clinical trials (2020)

●[In Japanese] Japan Pediatric Society (JPS), Japan Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS), Japan Outpatient Pediatric Society: Coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) medical treatment guidelines in pediatric outpatient clinics (2020)

Resources for patients — 

The following links provide resources about COVID-19 for non-clinicians. These resources come from select society and government-sponsored guidelines from several countries and regions around the world.

●[International] World Health Organization (WHO): Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – Home care for families and caregivers

●[United Kingdom] National Health Service (NHS): How to look after yourself at home if you have coronavirus (COVID-19) or symptoms of COVID-19

●[United Kingdom] NHS: Long-term effects of coronavirus (long COVID)

UpToDate also offers "The Basics" patient education pieces, which are written by the doctors and editors at UpToDate. These are written in plain language, at the 5^th to 6^th grade reading level, and answer the main questions a person is likely to have. (See "Patient education: COVID-19 overview (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and children (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 and pregnancy (The Basics)" and "Patient education: COVID-19 vaccines (The Basics)".)