Contact Tracing – Guidance on this Path Out of Isolation

Contact tracing is what is now on everyone’s radar in order to help in the next step to begin to open up the country. Contact tracing is a process designed to halt the chain of transmission of an infectious pathogen–like the coronavirus–and slow community spread. When someone tests positive for an infectious disease, they become a “case.” Public health workers then reach out to the case to make sure they have what they need and that they are self-isolating. They will then figure out who they had contact with who may be at risk of infection, too. NPR recently released a guide on the basics of the process and how it might help society restart after the current wave of coronavirus cases.