contact tracing Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Contract Tracing Efforts Are Buckling Under The Heavy Northwest Coronavirus Caseload

By Tom Banse December 14, 2020

Washington National Guard Pfc. Dominic Gonzales worked as a contact tracer at the state Department of Health in Tumwater in May 2020. CREDIT: Anna Boiko-Weyrauch/KUOW

Since early in the pandemic, rapid contact tracing has been considered one of the keys to controlling the spread of the coronavirus. But in recent weeks, an overwhelming surge in new cases has let thousands of COVID-positive people and their close contacts fall through the cracks.Read More

Washington Launches Statewide COVID-19 Exposure App For Phones. But You Need To Turn It On

By Tom Banse November 30, 2020

Washington state residents can now enable a smartphone app that sends an alert if the user was potentially exposed to a coronavirus carrier. CREDIT: Derek Wang/N3

The smartphone app sends you an alert if you've had close contact with another user who later tests positive for the coronavirus. The Washington State Department of Health and governor are hoping that at least 15 percent of Washingtonians voluntarily activate the COVID-19 exposure notification tool. Gov. Jay Inslee said even a low level of participation could reduce Read More

Conspiracy Theories Aside, Here’s What Contact Tracers Really Do To Help End The Pandemic

By NPR News July 14, 2020

Contact tracing for the coronavirus is the subject of colorful conspiracy theories. In fact, contact tracing is a straightforward process of notifying people if they've been exposed to someone who is sick. CREDIT: Hannah Norman/KHN

Misinformation and conspiracy theories abound, from tales that people who talk to contact tracers will be sent to nonexistent "FEMA camps" — a rumor so prevalent that health officials in Washington state had to put out a statement in May debunking it — to elaborate theories that the efforts are somehow part of a plot by global elites.Read More

Contract Tracing Efforts Are Buckling Under The Heavy Northwest Coronavirus Caseload

Washington Launches Statewide COVID-19 Exposure App For Phones. But You Need To Turn It On

Conspiracy Theories Aside, Here’s What Contact Tracers Really Do To Help End The Pandemic

3 Things The U.S. Can Do Right Now To Slow Coronavirus Spread

Okanogan Public Health Workers Report Hostile Threats And Fears About Contact Tracing

Former CDC Official Warns Of 2nd COVID-19 Wave: Most Americans Are Still Susceptible

NPR Asked All 50 States About Their Contact Tracing Capacity. Here’s What We Learned

Washington Builds Contact Tracing ‘Fire Brigade’ As State Looks Toward Gradual Reopening