community spread
noun
variants
or community transmission
: the spread of a contagious disease within a community
specifically
: the spread of a contagious disease to individuals in a particular geographic location who have no known contact with other infected individuals or who have not recently traveled to an area where the disease has any documented cases
Dr. [Anthony] Fauci, who is the top coronavirus expert in the country, said community spread made it almost impossible to predict how many cases there will be. —
Megan Sheets and Emily Crane
Megan Sheets and Emily Crane … a 50-year-old New Rochelle man became the first known person in New York to contract the virus through community spread. —Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell In areas where community transmission is high, schools may be closed and businesses may ask employees to work from home. —Melissa Healy
Melissa Healy Examples of community spread in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Those rates are significantly below the 95 percent threshold needed to block the onward community spread of measles—one of the most infectious viruses known to humankind.
—Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2025
That's far below the 95% level needed to prevent community spread, and likely lower in the small religious schools and homeschooling groups where the early cases were identified.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2025
This means that neither of the individuals was in a public setting during their incubation or contagious period, preventing the risk of community spread.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Identifying the specific virus not only helps determine the course of treatment, but also helps public health officials track community spread of diseases, McKeown said.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 13 June 2024
With these two tools—rapid testing and absolute lockdowns—the government set out to stamp out any sporadic local outbreaks, including when there is no evidence of community spread.
—Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2022
Further Reading Drug-resistant ringworm reported in US for first time; community spread likely
Last year, a dermatologist in New York reported the country's first cases of a newly emerging skin fungus that is highly contagious and resistant to common antifungal treatments.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2024
Silent community spread appeared to be behind the unconnected cases.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2024
The coming respiratory-virus season will be the country’s first after the end of the public-health emergency—its first, since the arrival of COVID, without crisis-caliber funding set aside, routine tracking of community spread, and health-care precautions already in place.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2023
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Ars Technica, 21 Mar. 2025
That's far below the 95% level needed to prevent community spread, and likely lower in the small religious schools and homeschooling groups where the early cases were identified.
—TIME, 21 Mar. 2025
This means that neither of the individuals was in a public setting during their incubation or contagious period, preventing the risk of community spread.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 12 Mar. 2025
Identifying the specific virus not only helps determine the course of treatment, but also helps public health officials track community spread of diseases, McKeown said.
—Binghui Huang, The Indianapolis Star, 13 June 2024
With these two tools—rapid testing and absolute lockdowns—the government set out to stamp out any sporadic local outbreaks, including when there is no evidence of community spread.
—Yanzhong Huang, Foreign Affairs, 26 Jan. 2022
Further Reading Drug-resistant ringworm reported in US for first time; community spread likely
Last year, a dermatologist in New York reported the country's first cases of a newly emerging skin fungus that is highly contagious and resistant to common antifungal treatments.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2024
Silent community spread appeared to be behind the unconnected cases.
—Eric Berger, Ars Technica, 16 Jan. 2024
The coming respiratory-virus season will be the country’s first after the end of the public-health emergency—its first, since the arrival of COVID, without crisis-caliber funding set aside, routine tracking of community spread, and health-care precautions already in place.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Community spread.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community%20spread. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
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