When You Can't Quarantine At Home: COVID-19 Contact Tracers Aim To Help

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Public health experts say tracing the close contacts of people infected with the coronavirus and getting them all into quarantine is crucial to stopping the pandemic. That's easier said than done.

Within 24 hours of a positive test, contact tracers reach out to a patient, then trace back two days before symptoms first appeared. They use calendars, social media — anything that can jog a memory. They gather phone numbers, email and physical addresses to track down contacts.

"Sometimes we use guilt tactics," Booth says."'You don't want to be the one spreading this infection. You wouldn't want grandma or grandpa to get it.'"Appeal to their heart strings." After recently returning to her native Salt Lake City, Miller, who is 64, was homeless in mid-April when she started to experience respiratory problems like she'd never felt before.

In Salt Lake, the county-owned and leased buildings alternate between serving as isolation units and temporary residences for quarantine — depending on the area's shifting needs. The buildings can accommodate up to 444 people, including families, says Nicholas Rupp, a spokesperson for the county health department.

Members of the community who come into these facilities for temporary isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus are housed with others who have tested positive for the virus.

The number of people staying in the facilities fluctuates. On some days officials have fewer than 10 people in quarantine or self-isolation. During a COVID-19 outbreak at a local men's shelter, the county housed as many as 140 patients at a time, Rupp says. Monitors follow up with the close contacts of people who have tested positive for the virus to see if those contacts have symptoms or have fallen ill. More than 1,000 state employees volunteered for this job, and 150 or so have been trained so far, including Diana Monago.

Monago, who is originally from Peru, says it can be a challenge to persuade Latinos to get help if they've tested positive or need to get tested; some hesitate, she's found. Working from home, Monago recently dialed a Spanish-speaking woman named Maria who was about to end her 14-day quarantine at home. .Maria was still worried, though, because her husband had tested positive for the coronavirus. Monago explains that, while she can't give medical advice, the woman should check with a doctor to make sure she's healthy, adding that Maria's husband should isolate himself from the family — probably outside their home.

 

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NYT Journalist Siu-Lee Wee reported on Nov 13 2019 from China on an outbreak of Yesernia Pestis, Pneumonic Plague. Why is this not being discussed?

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