1; Lora M. Martin, MSN1,2; Sara S. Kim, MPH3; Brian M. Kirmse, MD1; Lisa Haynie, PhD2; Sarah McGraw, MSN1,2; Paul Byers, MD4; Kathryn G.
Taylor, MD4; Manish M. Patel, MD3; Brendan Flannery, PhD3; CDC COVID-19 Response Team (View author affiliations)Community and close contact exposures contribute to the spread of COVID-19.Among children and adolescents aged <18 years in Mississippi, close contact with persons with COVID-19 and gatherings with persons outside the household and lack of consistent mask use in school were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection, whereas attending school or child care was not associated with receiving positive SARS-CoV-2 test results.Close contacts with persons with COVID-19 and gatherings contribute to SARS-CoV-2.