Stories from a Contact Tracer

[travelover]

I don't think real N95s are available...........

I've got a whole box full of them and will be wearing them probably through the end of the year, if not longer.


Respecting your request, I'll just sigh and leave it at that.

 

[JoeWras]

Is nobody getting it in vehicles and carpooling?

I can't believe that isn't part of the issue. I see all these work trucks packed with guys, sometimes 6 to a pickup.

Are contact tracers even having success reaching out to the communities that have to do this? Yes, I'm speaking of our hard working construction community, which in many areas consist of a predominantly Spanish speaking population.

 

[Midpack]

Specific contact tracing is probably not realistic when the prevalence is so high and contacts so numerous. Maybe it should be more like public situation review. Ok, you got it. Where did you go and what did you do in the last X days? Less about who was there and more about behavior and situations where transmission might have occurred. Then, with enough data, and the magic of statistics, we can use that to change what we do.

All true, but don’t forget there are still many places where test results take 3-10 days - contact tracing is basically pointless where results are coming many days later. Even if you do remember every contact, by then you’ve infected many, and they in turn have infected others. Contact tracing might have worked well early on, now it’s too late for the most part. The only places it will work are those where cases/infections are already low, that won’t help all the states and large metro areas where the big numbers are that are most of the cases-hospitalizations-deaths. Add the lack of memory and cooperation by many, and the outlook isn’t promising.

 

[harllee]

Is nobody getting it in vehicles and carpooling?

I can't believe that isn't part of the issue. I see all these work trucks packed with guys, sometimes 6 to a pickup.

Are contact tracers even having success reaching out to the communities that have to do this? Yes, I'm speaking of our hard working construction community, which in many areas consist of a predominantly Spanish speaking population.

Joe, I am sure that many construction workers and landscapers are being infected. What I am reporting is from 1 friend of mine who has told me about her experiences. She did not mention this issue specifically but she did say she is able to only reach about 75% of the people she tries to contact. She is not a Spanish speaker--I bet the local health department has tracers that speak Spanish to work with this population.

 

[rodi]

Is nobody getting it in vehicles and carpooling?

I can't believe that isn't part of the issue. I see all these work trucks packed with guys, sometimes 6 to a pickup.

Are contact tracers even having success reaching out to the communities that have to do this? Yes, I'm speaking of our hard working construction community, which in many areas consist of a predominantly Spanish speaking population.

I assume those would be considered workplace transmission.

 

[JoeWras]

I assume those would be considered workplace transmission.

Ah yes, makes sense.

This issue is a bit close to me, as I've been involved in volunteer work for hurricane recovery. As a matter of fact, we're soon going to help in the areas hit by Isaias last week.

Anyway, the one big thing we do is drive separately. It wastes gas, but it helps keep us distant. The worksite is another issue where we have to enforce distancing, and when not, wear masks.

I'll tell you this: I really appreciate the work our construction and maintenance people do. And when you may see them "breaking the rules," be aware they may have just sweat out 1 gallon of fluid and ruined a mask. It is hard as hell to work with the distancing rules in this heat and humidity.

 

[Calico]

Is nobody getting it in vehicles and carpooling?

I can't believe that isn't part of the issue. I see all these work trucks packed with guys, sometimes 6 to a pickup.

Are contact tracers even having success reaching out to the communities that have to do this? Yes, I'm speaking of our hard working construction community, which in many areas consist of a predominantly Spanish speaking population.

NC has made a concerted effort to hire a diverse group of contact tracers who reflect the race, ethnicity, culture, and languages spoken in the communities hardest hit by Covid 19. In NC as in so many other states, communities of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid. Based on the numbers from the NCDHHS website's dashboard, it appears they have done a pretty good job ensuring diversity in the contact tracers.

 

[brewer12345]

NC has made a concerted effort to hire a diverse group of contact tracers who reflect the race, ethnicity, culture, and languages spoken in the communities hardest hit by Covid 19. In NC as in so many other states, communities of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid. Based on the numbers from the NCDHHS website's dashboard, it appears they have done a pretty good job ensuring diversity in the contact tracers.

Hahaha, never let a crisis go to waste, I guess. We are frantically hiring contract tracers in a pandemic but apparently those hires are subject to racial quotas. Amazing!

 

[harllee]

I just read an article in the paper about the hard time contact tracers are having in LA County, California. A very low percentage of people who have tested positive are answering/returning calls and of those who do many are refusing to give contact information. The numbers are so low that the county has started offering $20 gift certificates to people who consent to cooperate with the calls. One tracer was interviewed about checking on people who have tested positive and who are suppose to be in quarantine. She says that often the person says yes I am in quarantine but she can hear noises in the background so she knows they are not in quarantine.

There is no hope for this country.

 

[JoeWras]

There is no hope for this country.

Cheer up. I want to give a little balance to this USA bashing I keep seeing.

Look, it isn't perfect, but many people are trying. Sure, some are acting out. Some are looting. We have our issues. But overall, I'm seeing a lot of cooperation on this issue. Not 100%, for sure.

NC is making progress. And before I get push back, I'll admit there is a LOT of work to do. But progress is being made on this issue. Let's celebrate that.

But not too much because people may throw caution to the wind again.

 

[Aerides]

mmmm bacon

 

[Calico]

Hahaha, never let a crisis go to waste, I guess. We are frantically hiring contract tracers in a pandemic but apparently those hires are subject to racial quotas. Amazing!

I agree with a great number of your posts, but in this case I am going to take exception.

Spanish speaking communities are suffering illness and death at a much higher rate than English speaking communities. These folks are disproportionately reflected in the ranks of low-paid, essential workers who are out there doing work to keep this country going that a lot of people would not do. Meat processing plant workers and agricultural workers and landscape workers (among others) are among the hardest working people in this country. They might not all have excellent English skills, but that doesn't mean they should die because the state doesn't have the resources to communicate with them about a deadly pandemic.

African Americans perform many of the service industry and delivery driver and bus driver and grocery store jobs and retail jobs in this state. They also represent a very large percentage of the support staff in major hospitals in this area. All of these jobs require that they come face to face with the public. And in NC, that often (not always, but often) means they are dealing with Covidiots who refuse to observe the most basic practices to keep themselves and others safe.

If my tax dollars in NC are spent to ensure that the communities most affected by a deadly disease are able to receive timely communications, timely testing, and timely health care in order to save lives I really don't have a problem with that. There is no way a language barrier should mean the difference between life and death.

It has been shown time and again in epidemics around the world that public health workers who are part of a community have greater success in disseminating information and building trust with vulnerable populations.

As I sit at my kitchen table, with the luxury of working my job with a laptop, keyboard, and monitor, I don't worry about my tax dollars being spent to hopefully save the lives of folks doing jobs I wouldn't last a day doing.

 

[harllee]

NC has made a concerted effort to hire a diverse group of contact tracers who reflect the race, ethnicity, culture, and languages spoken in the communities hardest hit by Covid 19. In NC as in so many other states, communities of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid. Based on the numbers from the NCDHHS website's dashboard, it appears they have done a pretty good job ensuring diversity in the contact tracers.

Good to hear this. The point of the contact tracer is to get people on the phone, give them info on the virus, ask them to quarantine if they have tested positive and get a list of contacts. I am sure a Spanish speaking person will have much better success in doing this in some communities. Same for other minorities. I think whatever helps in getting the contact tracing done should be done.

 

[Midpack]

Cheer up. I want to give a little balance to this USA bashing I keep seeing.

Look, it isn't perfect, but many people are trying. Sure, some are acting out. Some are looting. We have our issues. But overall, I'm seeing a lot of cooperation on this issue. Not 100%, for sure.

NC is making progress. And before I get push back, I'll admit there is a LOT of work to do. But progress is being made on this issue. Let's celebrate that.

But not too much because people may throw caution to the wind again.

Though they're lagging indicators, I think you left out the most important NC charts. Cases are a function of many things.

Our next hurdle may be schools reopening, some are remote learning but some aren't...

 

[Brat]

In my former work I found that it is easier to get cooperation if there is a language/dialect match. It doen't matter if we are dealing with Spanish speakers, locals who grew up in the Bronx, Yiddish or Ebonic speakers. Back in the day if I needed to talk to women who sewed beading on evening gowns I waited until school was out because the kids were my translators. If I needed to interview in Harlem I brought along a local. A 23 yo skinny natural blonde from the PNW carrying a briefcase with a local on my elbow turned heads. ; )

I live in a co-op with about 100 residents and staff. No one has contracted the virus! The one person who I catch without a mask in common areas is a CNA who just retired from working in a hospital! What an idiot. The building really limits the number of visitors/housekeepers who enter, they must sign in (contact tracing), wash their hands and wear a mask in the common areas.

The places I go to are mask anal-retentive: Costco, Fred Meyer even Walmart. People are very respectful of personal space.

DH goes out to son & DIL's business for several hours weekdays. His activity is out doors and he stays 6+ feet from employees. So far so good, none of the employees caught Covid19.

The grandchildren really miss their friends. Once a week the friends gather outdoors for exercise.. again wearing masks. Locals who belong to the MAC can find their pictures in this month's magazine. Everyone wants to go back to school (miracle of miracles as getting them up and out the door when school was in session was torture). The school district is online through the end of October, then half time in the classroom. I hope for everyone's sake that goes well.

 

[harllee]

Cheer up. I want to give a little balance to this USA bashing I keep seeing.

Look, it isn't perfect, but many people are trying. Sure, some are acting out. Some are looting. We have our issues. But overall, I'm seeing a lot of cooperation on this issue. Not 100%, for sure.

NC is making progress. And before I get push back, I'll admit there is a LOT of work to do. But progress is being made on this issue. Let's celebrate that.

But not too much because people may throw caution to the wind again.

Thanks Joe, I am glad to see some numbers improving in NC (hospitalizations and deaths are still too high-- maybe they will start improving soon too) and I hope it continues with schools and colleges opening up.

The things I am so discouraged about from the contact tracing viewpoint are high numbers of the following:

People who have tested positive refusing to talk to the contact tracer

People who have tested positive refusing to give the names of people they have been in close contact with to the tracer

People who have tested positive refusing to quarantine

This is so selfish and irresponsible. I think someone who refuses to quarantine after testing positive should be found guilty of a criminal offense. I remember reading about Typhoid Mary. She would not quarantine and they finally had to lock her up.

 

[Brat]

The bottom line is that how do contact traces communicate with those who may have been exposed? Whatever works IMHO.

 

[NW-Bound]

J’ai découvert que tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos dans une chambre.

-- Blaise Pascal, 1654

"I have discovered that all of humanity’s problems stem from one thing alone, not knowing how to sit quietly in a room alone."

In the 1600s, there was no Internet forum, no TV. They did not even have radio. No telephone to call someone. No wonder people went bonkers being isolated.

 

[brewer12345]

In the 1600s, there was no Internet forum, no TV. They did not even have radio. No telephone to call someone. No wonder people went bonkers being isolated.

I suppose that is why family and village life was so important. The transient nature of our society makes it easy to dissociate oneself. That is also why it is so hard to trace contacts. Think about it: if you weren't being pandemic careful, would you be able to give a list of everyone you interacted with in the last 3 to 5 days? Hop on public transportation, step into a few shops, maybe eat out or get together for a dinner party. Since I never had a great memory for faces or names, I sure would not be able to give a list.

 

[Chuckanut]

I think contact tracing assumes people are also rigorously doing other safety behaviors such as limiting outside contacts, washing hands, wearing a mask, 6 foot distancing. etc.

Alone and on its own CT is not possible. Like many things in life, it’s a feedback loupe. All need to be done properly to support the others so the system can work well.

 

[Sunset]

Since I know so many people that have or had Covid-19 (around 10 people) I thought I would do a little contract tracing of my own to see how most of these folks think they caught the virus:

.....
A friend (in his 50s) was infected in April, was very sick but not hospitalized and is still having health problems. He says he was staying home (I believe him) and was not around anyone who had the virus. His theory is that he got the virus from groceries he picked up from curbside pick up at the grocery store (that is why I am still sanitizing the groceries).

...

I feel this (Bold) is a common issue, I have heard on the radio, a person who got covid-19, say they only had relatives in the house and didn't think any of them would be infected.
OP's friend person didn't say they were not around anyone, so really they were around some folks that they could magically know didn't have the virus.

Of course maybe the person did pick it up from groceries, so I'll keep sanitizing mine with diluted bleach, or isolating the pantry items for 7 days.

 

[audreyh1]

I suppose that is why family and village life was so important. The transient nature of our society makes it easy to dissociate oneself. That is also why it is so hard to trace contacts. Think about it: if you weren't being pandemic careful, would you be able to give a list of everyone you interacted with in the last 3 to 5 days? Hop on public transportation, step into a few shops, maybe eat out or get together for a dinner party. Since I never had a great memory for faces or names, I sure would not be able to give a list.

But they only want to know people you interacted with at close proximity for at least 15 minutes. This should narrow the field considerably.

 

[audreyh1]

A friend (in his 50s) was infected in April, was very sick but not hospitalized and is still having health problems. He says he was staying home (I believe him) and was not around anyone who had the virus. His theory is that he got the virus from groceries he picked up from curbside pick up at the grocery store (that is why I am still sanitizing the groceries).

Good question from Sunset - was he not around anyone at all? Otherwise, how does he know he wasn’t around anyone who had the virus?

 

[audreyh1]

I think contact tracing assumes people are also rigorously doing other safety behaviors such as limiting outside contacts, washing hands, wearing a mask, 6 foot distancing. etc.

Alone and on its own CT is not possible. Like many things in life, it’s a feedback loupe. All need to be done properly to support the others so the system can work well.

I don’t think contact tracing assumes anything about rigorous safety behaviors - why would they?

 

[MichaelB]

<mod hat on>
Numerous posts were removed that were off topic or uncivil. This is a very difficult topic, so let’s all make an effort to keep a friendly, polite and helpful attitude.