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IMPORTANT: While "contact tracing" is essential to curbing the spread of #COVID19, new polls show many Americans don& #39;t want to do it. Here’s what it actually is & why we as doctors think it& #39;s the best route to re-opening the country. Please share with anyone who needs this info.
First: What is #contacttracing? It simply means that when someone tests positive for a contagious illness, you try to determine who came into close contact with them & may also be at risk. Then you might test and/or quarantine those folks, to control the illness& #39;s spread. (2/13)
As a doctor, when I see patients with suspected #COVID19 in my ER, they get a test & results. But beyond that patient in front of me, I can& #39;t do much to control the spread to all the people they came into contact with. Contact tracing helps immeasurably with this. (3/13)
This concept of #TestandTrace isn& #39;t new. Here& #39;s an example: When a patient tests positive for an #STD, that result is sent to the local health dept. The patient is alerted & all recent sexual contacts are contacted. Based on risk, those people are either treated or tested. (4/13)
The contacts of the patient who tested positive are asked to abstain from sex until they& #39;re clear. In this way, we can minimize the spread of STDs. Because of the nature of spread of STDs, the abstinence from sex effectively stops the spread of this particular disease. (5/13)
With #COVID19, the mode of spread is clearly different from an STD. When a patient tests positive, they& #39;re isolated to decrease the risk of spread. Because they may have spread the virus before they tested positive, they& #39;re interviewed to determine recent contacts. (6/13)
The ID of contacts may be more difficult with #COVID19 than STDs (depending on number of sexual contacts, it may only take a few hours with an STD). But today, as most states are relatively closed, it may not be too difficult to identify all contacts of a #COVID19 patient. (7/13)
The sooner we do this, the easier. As states “re-open,” the process of #contacttracing becomes more challenging. An army of tracers will need to call & interview all known close contacts of infected individuals. Daily follow-up calls will be needed to monitor symptoms. (8/13)
Many states have trained or are training thousands to perform this work. It& #39;s estimated that between 100,000 - 300,000 tracers will be needed across the country. While the work should be carried out by local health departments, the federal government has a role, too. (9/13)
With record unemployment, the federal government could provide funding to local entities to hire & train necessary staff. Additional federal funds will be needed to financially support the sick who are asked to isolate & the well who are asked to quarantine. (10/13)
Want to shorten the quarantine? In an ideal future, all contacts of a #COVID19 positive patient will be able to be tested. This would help potentially loosen restrictions. The federal government could expedite this process by employing the #DPA for tests, swabs & reagent. (11/13)
Until this ideal is realized, we must rely on the time-tested process of #TestTraceIsolate. The goal of the lockdown to flatten the curve was to avoid overwhelming hospitals with #COVID19 patients. The goal of #OpeningAmerica can only be achieved with #TestTraceIsolate. (12/13)
