TAMPA, Fla — There have been 52,634 cases of COVID-19 in the state of Florida and 2,319 deaths.
How do we stop the spread? According to the Department of Health, those answers lie with people called contact tracers.
So, who are they? How do these contact tracers work?
“Contact tracing is an old technique. It helps us prevent the spread of infectious disease. The more contact tracing we do, the more we will be prepared if there’s a new hot spot that develops in the community,” Jay Wolfson with USF Public Health explained to 10 Investigates' Jennifer Titus.
So, that’s why contact tracing is important? Here's how it all works.
After a local health department is notified someone has tested positive for COVID-19, a contact tracer tracks down the infected patient. They then request contact information of the people who they were around, starting at least two days before exhibiting symptoms, but not everyone, only people who are within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more at a time.
“The purpose of this is to reduce the chance of spreading it by isolating the virus in a certain location and then really training and educating individuals on how to prevent further spread of the disease,” Dr. Shamarial Roberson with the Florida Department of Health, explained to 10 Investigates.
Nationwide, states are hiring contact tracers in full force.
10 Investigates found that John Hopkins is offering an online course on contact tracing.
Florida currently has 1,522 contact tracers.
“It is absolutely an adequate number right now and what we do actually, is we look at our data on a day-to-day basis so we're looking at every county, looking at potential outbreaks in areas. We're making sure that we have the appropriate amount of staff and we assess that on a daily basis,” said Dr. Roberson.
Positive COVID-19 patients are kept anonymous. Those exposed are asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
“It's a tried and true evidence-based practice, evidence-based tool, to ensure that you can prevent the spread of disease and if you can do this, you can truly mitigate outbreaks and ultimately slow down the cycle,” said Dr. Roberson.
Most of the COVID-19 contact tracing is done by phone. So, it’s OK to answer that call. But you want to make sure you know who is on the other line.
Unfortunately, there have already been reports of people saying they are contact tracers but they’re not.
So, what do you need to know to make sure you know who you're talking to?
- Ask the person on the other end of the line their name.
- Ask them what department of health they are from.
- And if you receive a text message from someone saying they are a tracer...do not click on any link. It’s part of a phishing scam according to the Federal Trade Commission.
The CDC has more information on contact tracing here.
Click here for more information on COVID-19 in Florida.
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