OSDH Boosting COVID-19 Contact Tracing Efforts As New Case Numbers Continue To Decline

Back when cases were reaching around 5,000 a day, it was a struggle to try and contact trace, the state health department said. With as much community spread as there was, contact tracers' jobs were virtually impossible.

Now that cases are back in the hundreds, there is a renewed push to contact trace.

“It is really critical right now to make sure that people are aware that it is still out there and it is something we need to be aware and cautious of,” said Leeanne Bruce Boone with the State Department of Health. “That is what contact tracers are helping to do.”

Now, with less of a case load, contact tracers have more time on their hands to have a more individualized approach by making phone calls to people who tested positive for the virus.

“You have spoken to the person then you are able to find out who they might have come into contact with during their infectious period and who else needs to be notified that they might need to get tested,” said Bruce Boone.

Over the past year, the OSDH has had to make adjustments to make their contact tracing efforts more seamless. They have made all of their workers remote and they are now all assigned to a certain region to work closely with.

“They talk with people in same community and they are sharing trends and things that might indicate outbreaks,” said Bruce Boone.

OSDH has 216 contract contact tracers who operate in 20 teams.