TUCSON (KVOA) - Health experts say contact tracing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19.
If someone in Pima County tests positive for the coronavirus, the county health department hopes that person will provide a list of everyone they have been in contact with in 48 hours prior to when they were tested.
Close contact is considered fewer than six feet of separation with someone for more than 15 minutes.
The objective is for the contacts to self-quarantine for two weeks.
However, sometimes contacts do not pick up the phone and are hard to reach.
Pima County Health Officials said right now, about half of people who test positive for COVID-19 never give a list of contacts to start the process.
In some cases, the ones who are listed as contacts never know.
A spokesman for the health department said contact tracers leave three voicemails for the person listed as a positive case contact before sending that individual a certified letter.
“Every single person that we’re in contact with, six feet apart for more than 10 minutes, we are at risk for potential exposure to this virus,” Dr. Lisa Goldberg with Tucson Medical Center said. “Almost treating every single interaction as a possible exposure, but if you don’t pick up the phone how will you ever know? And knowledge is power. We need to take responsibility for our own health.”
Pima County Health Director, Dr. Theresa Cullen said the county has a team of about 20 coronavirus case investigators and contact tracing. The county is working to get more people to become contact tracers.
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July 04, 2020 at 05:19AM
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Contact tracing process proves difficult amid COVID-19 pandemic - KVOA Tucson News
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