As COVID-19 continues to spread, so does new terminology.
Chances are, you’ve seen the phrase “contact tracing” in the news or on social media. Here’s what you need to know.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), contact tracing involves finding everyone who comes in direct contact with someone who is infected with the virus, because they are at a higher risk of getting the virus themselves. The goal is to prevent further transmission.
“Even one missed contact can keep the outbreak going,” according to the CDC’s website.
Contact tracing can help slow the spread of an outbreak by identifying those who have been infected early on and isolating them. It can also shed light on how the disease is spread.
The process of contact tracing can be broken down into three basic steps: contact identification, contact listing and contact follow-up, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) website.
Once someone is confirmed to be infected with the virus, contacts are identified by asking about the person’s activities and the activities of the people around them. Contacts can be anyone: family members, co-workers, friends and even health care providers.
Every person considered to be a contact is then identified and put on a list. Efforts should be made to inform those on the list of their contact status and provide them with early care should they begin showing symptoms. In some cases, quarantine or isolation is required.
Contact follow-up involves checking in with all contacts to monitor symptoms and test for signs of infection.
Closing watching contacts after exposure to an infected person is a crucial step in preventing the spread of a virus.
Check out our COVID-19 glossary for information about related terms.
Angela Palermo can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @apalermooo