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- To contain future outbreaks of the new coronavirus, public health organizations will need to track people who have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
- Many states also do not have the resources necessary for contact tracking to work effectively.
- A Johns Hopkins report estimates that an additional 100,000 workers will be needed for manual contact localization efforts to work across the United States.
As the US states USA Beginning to reopen, health experts call for a massive investment in contact tracing, identifying and notifying people who have been in close contact with someone who tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Although President Donald Trump claims that the country is ready to contain local coronavirus outbreaks, some experts disagree. Many states also do not have the resources necessary for contact tracking to work effectively.
Lisa M. Lee, PhD, associate vice president of research and innovation at Virginia Tech, says contact tracing is “an essential part of preventing subsequent infections during an epidemic,” especially with the coronavirus vaccine in the coming months. .
Contact tracing begins with a person testing positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
It can also be done for suspicious cases, such as when someone shows
A trained public health worker interviews that person to help them remember everyone they have had close contact with while they were
Close contact is someone “who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes from 48 hours before the onset of illness until the time the patient is isolated,” according to
This period of time is necessary because of the way the coronavirus spreads.
“Part of the problem with the coronavirus,” said Lee, “is that it can be transmitted before a person has symptoms, before they feel sick, or even if they have very mild symptoms.”
Public health personnel notify, in person, by phone or electronically, to close contacts who may have been exposed.
These people are encouraged to stay home and maintain social distance (at least 6 feet) from other people for up to 14 days after their last exposure.
They are also asked to check their temperature twice a day and monitor for symptoms. In some areas, they may have a coronavirus test.
To protect privacy, close contacts are not told the name of the person with the virus with whom they may have been in contact.
Tracking contacts also helped South Africa flatten its curve quickly. The country deployed 28,000 contact trackers to track the spread of the coronavirus.
But contact tracing is no small task, especially in areas with more active coronavirus infections.
Just imagine all the people you have close contact with during everyday activities, like shopping, taking public transportation, going to a restaurant or movie, or even going for a walk in your neighborhood.
As of last month, the United States had only 2,200 contact trackers, according to the Association of Territorial and State Health Officials.
However, a recent report from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health estimates that an additional 100,000 workers will be needed for manual contact localization efforts to work across the United States.
The price for this? $ 3.6 billion.
Several cities and states are already increasing their localization capabilities, including San Francisco, Massachusetts and New York.
Given the sheer size of the problem, high-tech approaches to contact tracking are also being explored.
Last month, Apple and Google launched contact tracking tools. His approach involves apps created by public health organizations, plus updates for iOS and Android.
People with positive results would enter their diagnosis into an app. This would use Bluetooth technology to identify people who had been in close contact with them during their infectious period.
The app would notify those close contacts of a possible exposure. This would happen anonymously to protect people’s privacy.
Used in this way, the technology could enhance the manual contact finding efforts of public health organizations.
“Think about the last time you went to the grocery store,” said Lee. “You were probably within 6 feet of someone you don’t know. Therefore, you wouldn’t even know how to tell a contact tracker how to contact them.”
However, application-based tracking will not completely replace manual contact tracking.
For example, only 42 percent of Americans over the age of 65 own a smartphone, according to a 2017 survey by the Pew Research Center. However, this age group constitutes
The adoption of technology would be another problem. If only a small segment of the population installs the app, manual contact tracing will be needed to fill in the gaps.
Dr. Lisa Miller, professor of epidemiology at the Colorado School of Public Health at the Anschutz medical campus, cautions that contact tracing is just one of many tools that can help contain the virus.
That means until a coronavirus vaccine is available, we still need to be socially estranged, wash our hands regularly, not touch our hands with unwashed hands, and stay home when we are sick.
“It doesn’t mean that people can stop all the other things they’ve gotten used to,” Miller said. “But contact tracking will be an additional tool that will add to the control measures we can implement.”
Contact tracking should also be implemented in a way that helps all communities. We have already seen that certain African American, Latino, homeless and other populations have been most affected by COVID-19.
Part of helping these communities is making sure there is enough evidence available, because contact tracking begins with positive testing.
But “it’s not just a test,” said Miller. “We have to take vulnerable communities into account throughout the contact search process.”
For example, do people in a community have access to technology that is used to track contacts?
Or if English is not their native language, can they understand and follow the guidance of public health experts?
Lee says that household or community resources are another thing to consider.
If people are asked to isolate themselves, they must have adequate food and medicine so that they do not have to leave their homes.
Additionally, they must be able to physically distance themselves from others in their home, which is not always possible in a multi-generational or multi-family home.
This is where public health organizations must step in, for the good not only of the local community but of the entire country.
“We have to bring the resources to the community that people need to do what we ask them to do,” said Lee. “That is such a critical point. We will not be successful unless we do this. “
