Last updated: February 11, 2021.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there is “an ongoing outbreak of respiratory disease caused by a novel (new) coronavirus […] (abbreviated ‘COVID-19’). […] On March 11, WHO publicly characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. On March 13, the President of the United States declared the COVID-19 outbreak a national emergency.”
This blog post contains fact sheets, posters, multimedia resources, and links to live updates in multiple languages about COVID-19, its symptoms, and how to prevent it. Key CDC resources are listed first, followed by materials from other sources organized by type (sources include federal, state, and local government agencies, and selected nonprofit organizations).
Key COVID-19 Resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The CDC has developed the landing page Resources for Refugee Resettlement Service Providers. This page compiles links to existing CDC COVID-19 guidance and other resources that may be useful when service providers interact with clients in a variety of settings — for example, at home, at school, in a doctor’s office, or at work.
Also available is the CDC’s Communication Toolkit For Migrants, Refugees, and Other Limited-English-Proficient Populations. Multilingual resources are available on a wide range of topics, including:
- Welcome booklet for refugees
- Stop the spread of germs
- What to do if you are sick
- Symptoms of Coronavirus Disease 2019
- What you should know about COVID-19 to protect yourself and others
- 10 things you can do to manage your COVID-19 symptoms at home
- Guidance for large or extended families living in the same household
- Please wear a mask
- How to safely wear and take off a cloth face covering
Available languages include Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese, Chuukese, Dari, Farsi, French, Haitian Creole, Hmong, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Kunama, Lao, Malay, Marshallese, Nepali, Oromo, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian (Bosnia), Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Tigrinya, Tongan, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Yiddish. Not all materials are available in all languages. Materials in new languages are continually being added and updated; visit the link above for the latest translations.
Service providers may also be interested in the CDC guidance documents:
- New! What to Expect at Your Appointment to Get Vaccinated for COVID-19
- COVID-19 in Newly Resettled Refugee Populations
- COVID-19 in Racial and Ethnic Minority Groups
- Additional live updates from the CDC are available via the Coronavirus Resource Center.
Fact Sheets
- Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This fact sheet introduces the Moderna vaccine to recipients by explaining why one should get it, what to know before receiving it, the ingredients, risks, and other information. It is available in 24 languages which can be accessed here. - Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Fact Sheet for Recipients and Caregivers
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
This fact sheet includes information who should and should not get the vaccine, the ingredients of the vaccine, how it is given, and the risks and benefits. It is available in 24 languages which can be accessed here. The FDA has also compiled Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). - Social Distancing Guidelines and Cloth Face Mask Guidelines
The IRC in Salt Lake City and The IRC in Tucson
These illustrated fact sheets are available in Arabic, English, French, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Nepali, and Spanish. To download, login or register for a Switchboard account. - COVID-19: Understanding Guidance and Rules and Resettling to the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Cultural Orientation Resource Exchange (CORE), 2020
Available in Arabic, Burmese, Dari, English, Kinyarwanda, Russian, and Swahili. Same content also available as podcasts; see Videos and other Multimedia Resources, below. - Know Your Rights
HIAS, 2020
Includes facts about employment protections, accessing healthcare, housing rights, and more. Available in Arabic, Farsi, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. - New! Multiple Fact Sheets: Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 | Novel coronavirus | How can I be prepared for a COVID-19 outbreak? | What does staying at home mean? | For childcare providers | For families caregiving for loved ones | and more…
Washington State Department of Health, 2020
Languages include Arabic, Bangla (Bengali), Burmese, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), Dari, English, Farsi, French, Hakha Chin, Hindi, Hmong, Japanese, Karen, Khmer, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Marshallese, Punjabi, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Samoan, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tagalog, Thai, Tigrinya, Ukranian, Urdu, and Vietnamese. Not all materials available in all languages. - Coronavirus Disease 2019: Key Messages
Minnesota Department of Health, 2020
Available in Amharic, Arabic, Chinese, Dari, English, French, Hmong, Japanese, Karen, Khmer, Korean, Lao, Nepali, Oromo, Pashto, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. - 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020
Available in Acholi, Arabic, English, French, Haitian Creole, Khmer, Kirundi, Lingala, Portuguese, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese.
Posters
- Be a Germ-Buster…Wash Your Hands!
Washington State Department of Health, 2015
This poster provides a basic pictorial explanation of how to wash your hands. Available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Cambodian, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Nepali, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. - Hand Washing
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018
Developed during the Ebola outbreak, this poster illustrates six steps for effective hand washing. Available in English, French, Kinande, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili. - Stop Germs, Stay Healthy!
King County, WA Health Department, 2008
This poster provides steps for correctly washing your hands and preventing the spread of germs. Available in Amharic, Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, English, Farsi, French, Hmong, Khmer, Korean, Laotian, Nepali, Oromo, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese. - Multiple Flyers: COVID-19 information flyer | COVID-19 symptoms | For households living in close quarters | For high-risk, serious illness individuals | Steps to prevent spread | and more…
City of Austin, TX, 2020
Posters are available in Arabic, Burmese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. - Multiple Flyers: Physical Distancing | Handwashing | Cloth Face Coverings | Cleaning | Reduce Your Risk of COVID-19 Outside the Home | and more…
LA County Department of Public Health, 2020
Posters available in Arabic, Armenian, Cambodian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. - 10 Ways to manage respiratory symptoms at home
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, 2020
This poster provides tips on how to manage respiratory symptoms at home with illustrations. Available in Amharic, Bosnian, Burmese, Chinese Simplified, Chinese Traditional, Croatian, English, Falam Chin, Farsi, French, German, Haitian Creole, Hakha (Lai) Chin, Hindi, Jarai, Karen, Kayah, Kinyamulenge, Korean, Laotian, Mizo Chin, Nepali, Pashto, Portuguese, Punjabi, Rhade, Rohingya, Russian, Sango, Serbian (Cirilica), Serbian (Latin), Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Swahili (Congo), Tedim Chin, Tigrinya, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese.
Videos & Other Multimedia Resources
- New! Frequently Asked Questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine
Minnesota Department of Health, 2020
This video covers FAQs about the COVID-19 vaccines including the production process, how they are tested, and who is eligible to receive a vaccine. It is available in English, American Sign Language, Amharic, Karen, Lao, and Spanish with transcripts available in additional languages. - New! COVID-19 Response Videos
Minnesota Department of Health, 2020
This page includes 22 videos on various topics related to COVID-19 such as masks 101, schools, recognizing and managing symptoms, testing, and prevention. All videos are translated into a variety of languages and they are accompanied by transcripts. - How to Protect Yourself from COVID-19
Church World Service (CWS), 2020
These 3- to 15-minute videos are spoken in Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Farsi (Dari), Kinyarwanda, Nepalese, Rohingya, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. - COVID-19: How to protect yourself and stop the spread of the virus
- Cultural Orientation Resource Center (CORE), 2020
These 3- to 4-minute animated videos are spoken and subtitled in: Amharic, Arabic, Burmese, Dari, English, Farsi, French, Kinyarwanda, Nepali, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya and Ukrainian. - COVID-19: Understanding Guidance and Rules and Resettling to the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Cultural Orientation Resource Center (CORE), 2020
These two audio podcasts are available in Arabic, Burmese, Dari, English, Kinyarwanda, Russian, and Swahili. - Coronavirus Message
ValleyWise Health Medical Center, 2020
These 5-minute videos are spoken in a range of languages and include visual aids: Arabic, Burmese, English, French, Karen, Kirundi, Maay Maay, Somali, Spanish, and Swahili. - What is Coronavirus? and How to Stop Coronavirus from Spreading
Lutheran Family Services Nebraska, 2020
These 3-minute videos are spoken in a range of languages using CDC scripts. The videos are produced by Lutheran Family Services Nebraska in partnership with Restoring Dignity and Global Language Solutions, a translation and interpretation service for refugee-spoken languages. Available in Arabic (Middle Eastern dialect), Arabic (Sudanese dialect), Burmese, English, Karen, Karenni, Kiswahili, Kirundi, Kinyarwanda, Kurdish, Nepali, Nuer, Pashto, Somali, Spanish, and Zomi. - Coronavirus (COVID-19), COVID-19 Symptom/Exposure Response, Managing Stress and Anxiety During COVID-19, and Fake News and Scams, COVID-19
The Refugee Response, 2020
This is a series of 2- to 3-minute animated videos spoken in a range of languages. The videos are produced by The Refugee Response in partnership with Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland Migration and Refugee Service and the Ohio Department of Health. Available in Arabic (Middle Eastern dialect), Arabic (Sudanese dialect), Arkanese, Burmese, Dari, English, French, Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Kinyarwanda, Kirundi, Kiswahili, Kurdish-Kurmanji, Sorani Kurdish, Nepali, Pashto, Rohingya, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Tigrinya, Ukranian, and Vietnamese. - Information on COVID-19
Vermont Department of Health and Community Partners, 2020
This is a series of 1- to 2-minute videos spoken in a range of languages and providing basic information on COVID-19, with selected 7- to 10-minute videos offering more detailed information. They are shared by the Vermont Department of Health and created by the Spectrum Multicultural Youth Program, Howard Center, and other Burlington, VT community members. Available in Arabic (basic), Arabic (detailed), Bosnian, Dinka (basic ), Dinka (detailed), French (basic), French (detailed), Kirundi, Lingala, Nepali (basic), Nepali (detailed), Somali, Spanish, Swahili, Vietnamese (basic), Vietnamese (detailed). - COVID-19 Information
City of Lewiston, ME, 2020
The city of Lewiston, ME has produced a 10-minute video of COVID-19 information with audio in Arabic, English, Haitian Creole, French, Kirundi, Maay Maay, Portuguese, Somali, and Spanish. The audio is accompanied by a slide show with visual aids in English. - Introductory Video & Self-paced e-Learning Courses on Coronavirus
World Health Organization (WHO), 2020
This is five-minute introductory video provides an overview of COVID-19 in English. Captions are available in English, Amharic, Arabic, Bengali, Deutsch, Farsi, French, Simplified Chinese, Hausa, Hindi, Hungarian, Indian Sign Language, Indonesian, Macedonian, Odia, Persian, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swahili, Tetun, Turkish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. To access multi-lingual versions, create a free OpenWHO account. These videos are embedded in 3-hour long self-paced e-learning courses that may also be completed in each language listed above. Also available: WHO Academy and WHO Info mobile apps in Arabic, English, Simplified Chinese, French, Russian, and Spanish.
Live Updates
- Information on Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
World Health Organization (WHO), 2020
On this website, you can find information and guidance from WHO regarding the current outbreak of COVID-19. This page provides daily updates in English, French, Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Russian, and Spanish. - COVID-19 Overview
Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), U.S. Department of Labor
This website, from OSHA at the Department of Labor, addresses COVID-19 concerns related to occupational safety and health. Available in English and Spanish. - USCIS Response to Coronavirus
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service, 2020
This page summarizes updates related to rescheduling appointments, requests for evidence, oath ceremonies, and more. Available in English and Spanish. - COVID-19 Crisis Response Website
EMBARC Iowa, 2020
EMBARC Iowa has produced a multilingual COVID-19 Crisis Response website. It includes daily news updates in Burmese, Hakha-Chin, Mizo-Chin, English, French, Karen, Karenni, Kirundi, Kunama, Lingala, and Swahili. - New! COVID-19 Vaccine
Public Health Seattle & King County, WA
This page includes information about the COVID-19 vaccines including summary information, FAQs, and videos on how the vaccine is made and how it works. It is available in Amharic, Arabic, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, Khmer, Korean, Marshallese, Oromo, Russian, Samoan, Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya, Tongan, Ukrainian, and Vietnamese.
Resource Compilations
- New! COVID-19 Vaccines: Questions and Answers
Washington State Coronavirus Response
This website includes COVID-19 vaccine resources in multiple formats and languages including face sheets, videos, audio files, social media graphics, and banner ads. It also includes a video titled How Can Vaccine and Antibody Studies Move So Quickly and Still Be Safe? that is available in over 30 languages. - New! National Resource Center for COVID-19 among Refugees, Immigrants, and Migrants (NRC-RIM)
University of Minnesota, Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility - COVID Multilingual Resource Hub
UCLA Institute of American Cultures, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, and UCLA Asian American Studies Center
This resource hub includes written materials and videos on a variety of topics related to COVID-19 in languages such as Vietnamese, Swahili, Somali, Hmong, Spanish, Chinese, Chukese, and more. - COVID-19 Information in Indigenous, Endangered, and Under-Resourced Languages
Endangered Languages Project
This website contains resources sourced from governments, NGOs, and public health organizations in hundreds of endangered languages. - Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (NHPI) In-Language Resources for Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
This community library contains COVID-19 resources and information in 43 languages common in Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
10 thoughts on “Resource List: Multilingual Resources on COVID-19”
Hi there, over the past 6 months I did receive a lot of requests from organisations in Africa to illustrate signage for the Coronavirus, without language and multicultural. A challenge that I have taken up enthusiastically!
The initiative kept on growing as more request where coming in, resulting in more than 400 unique multicultural printable COVID-19 signs and posters, available on:
https://covid19signs.com/
With this initiative I hope to contribute to the fight against corona!
Greetings,
Arjen
Thank you for putting this together! Looking for info in Karen, Karenni, Pashtun, and Nuer, please.
Hello Jennifer! Thank you for your comment. Karen resources are available above and we have now added a resource in Pashto.
3/26/20 Update: Resources in Nuer and Karenni are now available, with thanks to Jennifer at Lutheran Family Services of Nebraska!
Jennifer these are not official govt resources but the video created by The Refugee Response, in partnerships with Catholic Charities, Diocese of Cleveland Migration and Refugee Service, is available in Pashto and Karen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSbeG1x9BLg&list=PLOZioxrIwCv3XMucYU8AmVRC7R7vLnYEJ
Thank you for this comment, Laura! These videos are now linked above.
Cell Ed Coronavirus Resources in Spanish & English that can be sent to a phone that does not require data/internet- useful for remote or isolated populations:
http://cell-ed-6879950.hs-sites.com/coronavirusguide_individual_english
I would appreciate any resources in Burmese or Kinyarwanda if possible. Thank you!
Hi Abby, thanks for your comment. We have added resources above in Burmese and Kinyarwanda!
Do you have any resources in Creole and Swahili? The school districts I work with do not, and I would love to send this resource to the newcomer families that I work with. Thank you!
Hello Rachael! Thank you for your question. We’ve updated the post above with Swahili language resources.
3/20/2020 Update: We have added a resource in Haitian Creole above.
If others are looking for specific languages, feel free to comment here or email Switchboard@Rescue.org.