What Is Contact Tracing?

As we move slowly back into real life, there’s an increased risk of infection through increased business interactions and people passing through the same entry and exit points within your buildings. While deep cleaning measures have been implemented, a strong track and trace process must be implemented should there be a positive COVID test result within your workforce. If this occurs, it becomes the ultimate priority to execute your track and trace process to minimize the risk of additional infection and limit the potential spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends contact tracing as a key strategy for the prevention of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). 

What is contact tracing?

Case Investigation Team

Your contact tracing team is going to be vital in any track and trace strategy as they have likely been trained in investigative skills and case management and in dealing with delicate situations sensitively and discreetly. This is going to be important for: 

• Helping the infected person remember who they may have been in contact with and what parts of the building they were in
• Following up and educating colleagues or visitors that may have come into contact with the infected employee on how to get tested, how to isolate, how to report those test results, and what to do next, in a calm and competent fashion
• Maintaining employee privacy and patient confidentiality when informing colleagues that they may have been exposed to an infected person
• Managing the case, so that further reporting, testing, tracking, and tracing is managed appropriately following on from the initial investigation

Hirsch Velocity Software with Contact Tracing

If a person enters a building and is later found to be symptomatic, Velocity can pull a report of everyone who entered the same door who can then be notified to either get tested or self-quarantine.
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Upwards Reporting

Once you’ve established your own internal track and trace process, you need to consider when, how, and to whom to report the results of your investigation and ongoing case investigation.

Upwards reporting to state and local representatives and CDC locations helps your municipality, city, state, and wider region understand the spread of the infection and take necessary precautions and actions. It’s likely that your representatives will have methods to expedite your test results and additional advice on how to manage and report on your specific incident. It doesn’t matter how large or small your organization is, upwards reporting should be a matter of priority, and being honest with your figures is paramount.

Ongoing Monitoring and Reporting