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Service providers who depend on close contact are adapting to the pandemic | News

Willie S. Morrissey — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:30:00 +0000

On March 17, 2020, the Rhode Island Department of Health notified Dr. Neal Rogol that he, like countless other small business owners in the state, was to close. “It was an enforced vacation that wasn’t a vacation,” said Rogol, a family dentist whose office is at 24 Salt Pond Road in South Kingstown.

Dentistry has always been at the forefront of infection control, according to Rogol. Viruses that have beset civilization in recent decades have forced medical professionals to wear more personal protective equipment – such as gloves, scrubs or some other barrier to cover clothing and masks, it has therefore felt the changes that COVID-19 would herald. When her practice reopened in late May 2020, the Rhode Island Dental Association asked all dentists to wear “a heavier filtration mask,” and she distributed them to dentists for emergency use.

“The dental association really came to bat,” Rogol said. “The association has distributed hand sanitizers for all offices, a number of high filtration masks and disposable gowns. We have implemented the use of N95 masks, which have the highest possible filtration rate. Rogol also procured face shields because, he explained, “when you use drills, you create aerosols, and the coronavirus spreads through aerosols or droplets.”

There were also equipment that dentists were instructed not to use, such as the ultrasonic cleaner, which is used to clean heavy deposits of hardened tartar, known in his profession as “tartar”. These machines also produce aerosols. Rogol hygienists had to perform ‘manual descaling’ until restrictions were eased; they became more knowledgeable about the virus and people were vaccinated. “At one point, many offices weren’t even doing any cleaning,” Rogol said. “We weren’t even polishing.”

Gradually, the dentists started polishing and started using the ultrasonic cleaner again when the Centers for Disease Control gave them permission to “do whatever we wanted to do,” according to Rogol. Currently, Rogol’s office is a bulwark against the disease. All surfaces are cleaned with an antiviral barrier based on hydrogen peroxide. At a cost of around $5,000, Rogol purchased two air filtration machines, which use pure active technology, and three “extra-oral evacuation” (outside of the mouth) machines that evacuate aerosols and contain three layers of filtration.

Rising inflation and the supply chain crisis have made N95 masks both more expensive and difficult to buy. “Hospitals told their staff they had to use the same masks over and over again, but I didn’t want to, so I stockpiled as many as I could.” Initially, he also took the advice to put masks in sealed Tupperware containers until masks became more readily available. The gloves, which Rogol said once cost $6.99 a box, have soared to $24.99 a box. They came back at a reasonable price of $8.99 a box, but the upfront expense was significant.

Rogol also took other precautions, including limiting the number of patients who could sit in the waiting room. At one point, some of his patients had the option of waiting in their car to be called in turn. “We still require all patients to wear masks in the office until they sit in the chair. It’s very controversial because the state lifted the restrictions, but in a health care setting, masks are appropriate,” Rogol said. “We screen all staff and take the temperature of all patients when they arrive. We make sure they are healthy and have not knowingly been exposed to anyone with a virus.”

Part of this screening process involves patients filling out a COVID questionnaire, and all patients, prior to treatment, must rinse their mouth with hydrogen peroxide solution. “We try to protect everyone, and patients understand and appreciate that.”

Rogol says things may never be the same as before the pandemic.

“I don’t know if it will be a day like before,” he said. “I still have patients who don’t come if they don’t feel any discomfort or pain. The phobia of the virus sometimes outweighs the need for preventive care. Dental care is linked to overall good health, so maintaining good health is more important than ever.

Stephanie White, owner of Optimal Wellness Therapeutic Massage at 24 Salt Pond Road, has been a massage therapist for 10 years, and the trials and tribulations of being a small business owner have never been more pronounced than they have been. been the last two. In March 2020, as COVID-19 spread rapidly, she was forced to shut down her business for four months, which put her and her family in dire economic straits.

She had no income for a few weeks until she became eligible for pandemic unemployment insurance, which she estimated covered about 70% of the income she was receiving at the time. pre-COVID. In the meantime, White said: “I still had overhead and we had to give up a lot of bills at home. One was the mortgage payment. You spend 10 years building a business, and then all of a sudden…”

White’s business expenses were also piling up. “The majority of people who work in this industry (massage therapy) are independent contractors, so we were not eligible to receive PPE (personal protective equipment) as (Internal Revenue Service form) 1099 employees. ” White explained. When the Rhode Island Department of Health informed White on the last day of May 2020 that it could reopen in June, she and her staff were unprepared. “We couldn’t open right away because we had to buy the things we needed. We had to buy all kinds of air filters, and we had to follow all kinds of cleaning protocols and have different types of equipment to be compliant,” White explained.

She was able to reopen Optimal Wellness on July 1, but she and other therapists have had to get used to the post-COVID adjustments the virus has forced on all sectors of society. “We had to take fewer customers because we needed more time to clean; additionally, we had to screen all of our customers to make sure everyone was healthy and following the rules,” she said. “And laundry is more expensive, cleaners, air filters, all the equipment is more expensive. We now employ professional cleaners instead of doing our own cleaning.

White herself caught COVID in November 2020, but credits her protocols for ensuring that none of her clients reported falling ill.

“Someone in my family tested positive, so I got tested immediately,” White said. “I was at work because I didn’t know I was HIV positive. I called every client I had seen that week, and not a single person got sick, as we followed all the protocols. After that a lot of people didn’t want to come in because I got COVID. It made me feel more comfortable with the precautions I was using because not a single person ended up getting it.

“That was probably the worst thing, telling people they were exposed,” White added. “I called everyone for the week, maybe fifteen people. We followed strict protocols and obviously it paid off.

Stricter protocols and mitigations followed as the Omicron variant began to spread. In October 2021, the Department of Health required anyone licensed with its agency to be vaccinated. Two of its employees refused to comply, so Optimal Wellness has only three massage therapists left.

While the Omicron variant appears to have peaked and Governor Dan McKee has relaxed his masking and vaccination mandates, White is more optimistic about the future. “I think people are more comfortable doing a one-on-one activity rather than being in a large crowd,” she said. “Everyone has done well not to come when they are not feeling well. One week we had 10 cancellations from people feeling unwell or testing positive, but lately we’ve been in a good phase. We have had no cancellations in the past two weeks. The problem is having to pivot with all the different changes. The cost of everything is going up, and you look around and see all these other businesses closing. It’s just exhausting having to keep up. »

High case count alters COVID contact tracing

Willie S. Morrissey — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 02:08:00 +0000

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) – At the start of COVID, public health officials attempted to contact everyone who tested positive. Now, some agencies have concluded that they just can’t catch everyone, so they’re changing their strategy.

Health officials depended on contact tracing to help reduce the spread of COVID. The idea was that if you tested positive, you would receive a call from a health worker asking who you have been around so they can determine if those contacts could also be spreading COVID.

But Omicron sent such a high number of cases that health experts concluded they couldn’t reach everyone, so they better shift priorities.

The Arizona Department of Health Services said it is reducing contact tracing for the general population and focusing on congregate living — places like nursing homes and homeless shelters where populations are most vulnerable and where nearby neighborhoods facilitate the spread of the virus.

Pima County Health Director Dr. Terry Cullen says Pima County is still working to contact anyone who tests positive, but is giving some settings an extra priority.

“The predominant impetus for contact tracing right now is our school cases and our community life cases. Both of these continue to be very high risk situations. And we continue to do contact tracing in them.

Dr. Cullen says the county was hitting a thousand new cases a day last month. Unless someone refuses to cooperate – and some refuse – a tracer may learn that two or three other people need to call. The phone call itself can last an average of 20 minutes.

Dr Cullen says: “That means we would have had a thousand cases to investigate and two to three thousand contacts. This was not the case at the time. So to be blunt as we say we are still doing contact tracing. In the midst of these very high numbers, people were not being contacted.

She says the number of more recent cases has declined, but is still well above levels considered dangerously high.

Dr Cullen says more than data is lost when people don’t hear about contact tracers. Tracers can offer advice on how best to quarantine and where to find services that can help get through their COVID cases.

Dare schools to end COVID contact tracing

Willie S. Morrissey — Thu, 10 Feb 2022 08:00:00 +0000

Health directors call on state to move from ‘pandemic to endemic’ status

Changes to COVID protocols and guidelines — ranging from the lifting of school mask mandates to new rules on school quarantine — have occurred in quick succession over the past few days.

On February 10, two days after the school board voted to lift school mask mandates, families at Dare County schools received this email from the district with new guidelines for when students should stay out. from school.

“This afternoon, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released an update to the StrongSchoolsNC Public Health Toolkit. According to the new guidelines, contact tracing in K-12 schools is no longer recommended or required by local public health. Students will no longer be excluded from school as long as they show no symptoms. The implementation is expected to go into effect statewide on Feb. 21 to allow time for school districts to make policy changes.

Dare County Schools Tracked Toolkit [and] with the support of our local health director, Dr. Sheila Davies, we will implement these changes with immediate effect.

It is important to note that the following protocols are still in effect:

Masks are required on all school buses per federal mandate.
People who test positive or show symptoms will still be excluded from school for 5 days and will be required to wear a mask on days 6-10 after returning to school.

In a sign of the growing momentum for these changes, on February 2, health directors from the Northeast North Carolina Public Health Partnership, which represents 16 counties, sent a letter to the Secretary of Health and at North Carolina Social Services, Kody Kinsley. The letter called for a “rapid transition from pandemic to endemic status in our response to COVID-19.”

In particular, principals requested that such a response move away from “universal case investigation and contract tracing, including school-aged children…We do not view schools as a population high risk”.

What Really Triggered WA’s “Close Contact” Changes

Willie S. Morrissey — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 03:57:20 +0000

Under mounting pressure from major industry groups, schools, health care worker lobbies and the state media, Mr. McGowan took advantage of his government’s vague definitions to pull the trigger on a transition.

The Prime Minister said emphatically on Monday that the changes were not happening due to community pressure, despite the fact that hundreds of pupils and teachers and their families had to spend 14 days in self-isolation when several schools have recorded cases. Several mining sites had also been affected by COVID-19 in recent weeks.

Mr McGowan pointed to how WA went from nine community cases from January 28 to January 26 on Monday to justify the change.

“It’s a 150% increase,” he said. “On top of that we had a number of people who came over the weekend [because of a February 5 easing of state entry requirements].

“There are therefore 10,000 people passing through the airport, 2,000 others through the road border.

“While these people are required to self-quarantine – they will be monitored by a G2G pass, they will have testing and other requirements on them – we expect there will be leaks of this.

“Opening ourselves up to more risk means the virus will spread faster; given our low case numbers for so long, this may come as a shock to some people.

The rise in cases from nine to 26 is not why WA introduced the rules, although 22 cases were recorded on January 29 and cases fell to 13 on Tuesday.

And health officials have not detailed any further “leaks” of self-isolating arrivals, even though thousands of people have been doing so safely for more than a month.

Despite Mr McGowan’s protests the change in close contact was not prompted by community pressure, Dr Robertson, in his February 6 health advice to the Prime Minister, made it clear that the old rules n were more applicable and something had to give.

“Given the increasing number of WA cases, especially in large wards, the number of people who need to quarantine as close or casual contacts is now disproportionate to the risk,” he said. .

“A change to the quarantine period will foster confidence within the community and industry that WA is moving towards a transition to ‘living with COVID’ and should improve public engagement and trust.

“This will have great benefits for the industry by allowing workers who have traveled to WA to start their jobs earlier.”

Dr Robertson also wrote that the community would be more willing to cooperate with contact tracing efforts with less onerous quarantine requirements.

He cited several studies and noted how a recent survey by the Federal Department of Health found that only 6% of the 1,382 cases of COVID-19 that entered Australia, over an unknown period, tested positive for the first time. after seven days of quarantine.

Studies have emerged since January indicating that Omicron only took three days to incubate.

Why the government didn’t go ahead with the rule change sooner is a bit of a puzzle.

Australian Medical Association WA President Mark Duncan-Smith, who has been one of many voices calling for reduced periods of isolation for close contacts, said science has already underlined the need for a seven-day quarantine rather than keeping people locked up unnecessarily. at the top.

“It makes for an incongruous policy that sort of approaches bureaucratic hypocrisy when you punish children with a week of unnecessary isolation but still have nightclubs open,” he said.

Dr. Robertson said at Monday’s press conference that the state has been successful in suppressing Omicron so far with the rules it has, but regardless of that fact, the increase in cases will increase exponentially very soon and in a few days.

“Nobody notices the doubling at first,” he said.

“But if you look at the numbers, unfortunately more and more of these cases are locally acquired, more and more of these cases are unrelated, so we expect in the next few days that our numbers will start to double.

“You’ll notice we’ll be going from 36 to 72 to 100. So we’re looking at that and putting those measures in preemptively as we expect to get those increases in the next few days.”

There are still 27 cases under investigation for their source, but these are not considered ‘mystery cases’ as contact tracers have an idea of where they may have caught the virus from.

But Dr Robertson said it wouldn’t be long before contact tracers weren’t able to find every exposure site an infected person had been to.

The chief health officer says it is now best to recalibrate the system to focus on tracing contacts who were most at risk of contracting the disease.

The AMA WA and state opposition have called for a new reopening date, but Dr Robertson did not say when exactly a review, which is expected to take place within four weeks from January 20, would take place. actually take place.

Dr Robertson would not be determined whether the rapid uptake of booster shots – with 45% of over-18s getting triple shots, around 10% more than the health director estimated the state would be in early February – meant the state could open before winter.

WA could theoretically have around 80% of the triple of more than 16 cohorts bitten around March 13, but authorities say they are not simply linking an opening to vaccination rates.

The government also won’t say when tougher restrictions will be introduced, although it said similar measures in South Australia will come with fewer cases than that state brought them to.

But judging by how quickly WA stopped holding its boundary and introducing new contact protocols, it probably won’t be long.

Mr McGowan has tried to bring home the number of deaths in other states lately, but on Monday he also told WA not to panic.

“Western Australians should take a higher workload seriously, but that is not cause for panic. Not at all,” he said.

“We prepared for this, keep going, keep working, support your local businesses.

“Be reasonable and be careful. If you are sick, stay home and get tested. Register on the sites and check the exhibition sites. Wear your mask and, if you haven’t already, get vaccinated for the third time.

“We can minimize the disruption, I am determined not to make the mistakes that other states and other countries have made.”

Our latest news alert will be notify you important breaking news as it happens. Get it here.

Without a Trace: Contact tracers miss two Omicron cases, system shortcomings are highlighted

Willie S. Morrissey — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 20:44:00 +0000

Despite government assurances that contact tracing was nearly foolproof, the Omicron outbreak quickly highlights the shortcomings of the system, writes Matthew Scott.

TO ANALYSE: The first signs of contact tracers unable to track the burden of new positive Covid cases in the community have emerged.

Two cases from the Omicron outbreak underwent testing and received positive test results without hearing from the contact tracing team.

The cases were an Air NZ worker from the Auckland flight to Nelson and a kitchen worker from Summerset Retirement Village in Flatbush, where a positive case among staff has now led to a mini-lockdown for residents.

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Jenny Evans/Getty Images

With cases already difficult for them to follow, this phase of the pandemic is proving more difficult for contact tracers.

Contact tracers are responsible for identifying potential contacts of a positive case and contacting them to provide advice on testing and self-isolation.

If people don’t log in or leave contact details when they visit what become places of interest, tracing work can be like finding a needle in a haystack.

Writing in Newsroom last week, University of Otago epidemiologist Amanda Kvalsvig warned: ‘We can expect contact tracing to drop pretty quickly.

And indeed, on Monday, the Department of Health reported that the contact tracing team had a busy day looking for anyone who might have been near a suspected case of Omicron.

However, a Department of Health spokesperson said the cases were not existing close contacts of other cases, meaning they were not known until they tested positive.

Yet both were listed as having come into contact with the Nelson-Tasman family. Both cases were documented as having been at places of interest, one on the same flight and the other at the same wedding.

The lapses run counter to government assurances towards the end of last year that contact tracing could handle the summer surge, with a Department of Health spokesman saying the system could handle 1,000 new cases daily or 6,000 contacts per day.

Chief Health Officer Dr Ashley Bloomfield conceded no doubts about the system. “I’m confident in our contact tracing capability, acknowledging again that the way we use it has changed to be very focused on those very close, close contacts,” he told Newsroom in November.

The problem is that an event like a wedding or several hours enclosed in the tight confines of an airplane cabin with limited ventilation can produce a lot of very close contacts.

An Air NZ spokesperson reported that an air crew employee had been tested after developing symptoms, with no communication from contact tracers.

Similarly, the Summerset Retirement Village kitchen worker was reportedly invited to the wedding at the Totara Event Center in New Lynn on Saturday, Jan. 15, attended by a family who had flown in from the Nelson area.

The first family members to attend the wedding tested positive Thursday morning. But it wasn’t until Friday night that the worker was told by another wedding attendee and went to get tested on his own. Although he works with vulnerable older people, he was not approached by contact tracers until told of the positive result on Saturday.

A spokesperson for Summerset Retirement Village said the company acted immediately after hearing the worker’s positive test result by deep-cleaning the kitchen and closing the village and care center completely.

More than 300 Covid tests were then carried out among staff, care homes and residents of the village.

As public health strategy evolves, contact tracing is set to become less important, with Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins even noting yesterday that at some point suspected cases won’t even be asked out and to get an exam.

It portends a new phase of the pandemic for New Zealand, where halting the spread has been replaced by slowing the spread and reliable tools of the past two years like contact tracing and MIQ are replaced by booster injections and self-isolation.

The difference is that the latter is much more about personal responsibility – the responsibility to keep your immunity in good shape with the best tools at hand, and the responsibility to keep yourself away from others if you wake up sneezing. and coughing.

Tuesday’s Department of Health statement appears to be intended to lower expectations about the effectiveness of contact tracing in this new era.

One of the new hotspots is a busy Sunday night party at the Pukekohe Indian Hall.

“The Auckland Regional Public Health Department believes a large number of people attended this event,” the statement from the Department of Health said. “Anyone in this location at the relevant times is urged to get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is returned.”

Tracking down everyone who attended the Pukekohe event wouldn’t be easy if everyone didn’t scan.

But if the government’s indications are to be believed, the days of people being searched by places visited as the first line of defense against the virus may be coming to an end.

Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Nearly 1000 people isolated after contact with Omicron case

Willie S. Morrissey — Tue, 25 Jan 2022 06:37:21 +0000

There are 10 new cases of Omicron to report today. Video / NZ Herald

Nearly 1,000 people are self-isolating after coming into contact with an Omicron case in recent days.

A Department of Health spokesperson said this morning that 993 contacts were associated with confirmed and suspected cases of Omicron.

Ten new cases of Omicron were announced today – part of 25 cases of Covid-19 reported in the community by the ministry.

The new cases bring the total number of Omicron infections in the cluster to 29.

Of today’s new community cases, at least six are in Auckland and are linked, directly or indirectly, to a family event and other events associated with Auckland over the weekend of January 15-16, when the Omicron cluster began to form.

And 89 of those in isolation have been associated with the Ara-Tai cafe at Half Moon Bay in Auckland, which was visited by an Omicron case last Tuesday for an hour and a half.

“Of these, 87 were met, 83 returned a negative Covid-19 and none returned a positive result,” the spokesperson said.

The case visited the cafe between 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. last Tuesday and customers who were seated inside and outside the cafe were asked to self-isolate and get tested.

As of this morning, 56 contacts have been linked to a Sky Tower exhibition event last Sunday.

So far, 21 people have returned negative test results and no one has returned a positive result.

The ministry noted that some of the contacts who were not reached by public health personnel or contact tracers returned a negative result.

“This number will fluctuate but, overall, cases and contacts are expected to increase given the highly transmissible nature of Omicron and as we learn more from case interviews.”

Modeling suggests that New Zealand could receive between 5,000 and 50,000 cases per day of the highly transmissible variant. Despite this, Health Minister Andrew Little said yesterday he was confident the health system could cope.

Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins told Newstalk ZB’s Tim Dower yesterday that many people who receive the variant will be able to stay at home while they fight the virus.

Health officials continue to research how Omicron entered the community.

The link between the nine Motueka cases and the border is not yet known – leading health officials to believe the highly transmissible variant was circulating in Auckland and potentially the Nelson area.

Tomorrow, an announcement is expected from Cabinet after discussions on a new plan within the traffic light system.

Massena Central School Board Member Questions New Contact Tracing and Quarantine Protocols | Education

Willie S. Morrissey — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 08:00:00 +0000

MASSENA — A member of the Massena Central School Board says he is unhappy with the new protocols regarding the school’s role in contact tracing and quarantining and the impact it could have on education of a student.

Superintendent Patrick H. Brady told council members Thursday evening that the state Department of Health issued new guidelines last week on pandemic protocols, including contact tracing and quarantine. He also provided a chart for determining when to isolate or quarantine based on symptoms and vaccination status.

“Yesterday the regional superintendents met with public health and discussed the new guidelines. Today I met with our board of directors and the chief planning nurse here,” Mr Brady said.

New information for parents and staff “about what it will look like in the future” was due out on Friday, he said.

He said one of the biggest changes from the new guidelines was that the state DOH and the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department would no longer conduct contact tracing.

“That means people exposed to COVID-19, look at the seating charts and come in and nail it down to a few students and make these kinds of one-on-one calls. It will be more of a general statement that there have been cases at the ninth or third year level and then releasing that information,” Brady said.

Board member Kevin F. Perretta asked why the district would want to continue to follow these guidelines.

He said he looked closely at the corresponding policy “voted against because I thought it was rubbish if you want to look back.”

“I didn’t like that we had the ability to take away a student’s right to education when they sneeze because it’s a symptom,” Perretta said. “Ultimately, it’s a symptom. That’s where we went.

“I think it’s been well established through this pandemic that schools have the ability to do that, to keep students safe, and we’ve had that under communicable diseases,” Brady said.

He said the guidelines followed by the district came from the county public health department.

“In fact, they’re really asking us now that schools should at least let parents know if they’re a close contact,” Brady said.

“So are we going to send them home if they show up and they’re a close contact?” asked Mr. Perretta.

“We are moving to self-reporting, more self-reporting by families rather than contact tracing,” Mr Brady said.

Mr Perretta said he was trying to ‘bring it down to what we are allowed to do and not allowed to do by policy and/or law’.

“I know what we did. They just took away what we were cluttered with before,” he said. “So that’s why I’m asking, why are we going to keep doing this?”

Test kits, which were distributed to families who requested them, could play a role in determining a student’s status before coming to school.

“So we can send that test home with a student and have them tested to see if they have COVID so they can go back to school,” he said.

Board member Loren Fountaine said sending test kits home to the families of someone who might be a close contact seemed like “a pretty solid solution”.

“It’s only if you have symptoms, because otherwise we don’t have the right to make them do anything,” Mr Perretta said.

” I’m not saying that. I’m just saying it’s a responsible thing to do if you’ve been in close contact to get tested,’ Mr Fountaine said. “Of course, children have a right to public education. People also have the right not to be affected by someone on purpose, but I’ve seen people say, “Go spread it.”

“We have to be careful in the sense that there is a part of our population that, if they get this, it’s not just the flu. It is life threatening,” Mr. Fountaine added. “We can’t just say, ‘Well, get the flu and get over it. I think that’s a very simplistic way of putting it. Most people will be fine with it. »

Mr. Perretta said he was not trying to downplay the issue.

“What I’m looking at is what our role is here. We are here to represent the children, not the elderly,” Mr. Perretta said. “If you want to see what our role is, what has happened to the children in the last two years? It will last a long, long time. If you look at what we’re doing with these kids and what’s happening, how are we going to get out of this? All the data shows that you can’t catch them once you lose them.

Mr Brady said the district is working on it.

“We have worked and our staff have worked, our administrators, our nurses to keep the doors open all year round. Believe me, there have been times (the neighborhood could have closed) because of quarantine issues. Now, with 92 cases at school last week and 46 the week before and all close contacts, we are just fighting to add staff to stay. But, we fought to keep it open,” Mr. Brady said. “I see this as a progression. We are going in the right direction. We are starting and we have learned a lot through this process.

St. Lawrence County Public Health has stopped contact tracing; isolation and quarantine move to an honor system | Public Service News

Willie S. Morrissey — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 03:14:14 +0000

CANTON – Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, the St. Lawrence County Public Health Department will stop contact tracing and investigating cases except those they identify as the most vulnerable populations. These include older adults, school-aged children, people in daycares, nursing homes, health care facilities and other congregate settings.

Additionally, Isolation and Quarantine are moving to an honor system. The department said in a news release that those who test positive should self-isolate and notify any close contacts who may have been exposed.

“You may not receive a call from St. Lawrence County/New York State Public Health if you have tested positive or been exposed to COVID-19. However, you will still be notified by where you were tested of your results,” the department said. “People who have tested positive will be required to self-isolate and anyone who has been exposed must self-quarantine.”

County officials cite New York state’s “evolving priorities” as the reason for the change.

“We are seeing a higher number of new infections every day than we have seen at any time throughout the pandemic and staff are unable to reach all cases and contacts in a timely manner. In an effort to increase the effectiveness of contact tracing and our response, our department will transition to a self-directed isolation and quarantine process,” said Jolene F. Munger, acting county director of public health, in a press release.

The county has reported 200 to 300 new cases of COVID-19 per day so far in 2022.

Anyone notified that they are a close contact should self-quarantine, unless exempt, and monitor for symptoms. They should get tested on the fifth day after exposure, or sooner if symptoms develop.

For more information on who is considered a close contact, see the State Department of Health’s Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Online FAQ at wdt.me/covidFAQ.

Employers, schools, daycares, and health care facilities should work with staff, students, and customers to help them identify and report exposures that occur in their facilities. For schools, this may mean a change to general notification that a student in a class has tested positive and, in some situations, students may still be excluded from school, the department said.

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the county and across the country, health officials say it’s vital that all residents continue to follow what they call “the six pillars of prevention” to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The six pillars are self-isolating and notifying close contacts of a positive result; self-quarantine in case of exposure; wear a mask in public; hand washing; staying home when sick; get tested if sick or exposed; and get vaccinated and boosted.

Anyone who is not vaccinated or strengthened can visit the county’s website, www.stlawco.org/Departments/PublicHealth, or call 315-386-2325 for a list of vaccination clinics and to schedule an appointment. .

“We must continue to apply the six pillars of prevention to protect others and prevent the spread when we test positive for COVID-19,” Ms. Munger said. “The basic isolation and quarantine processes do not change; however, it will now emphasize personal responsibility to do the right thing and SLCPH would like to thank those who complied with public health orders.

People who have been notified that they have tested positive for COVID-19 can submit an online isolation request form at wdt.me/covidForms or visit the county website.

To determine the length of isolation or quarantine, visit the county’s website. For specific guidance for people living in communities and healthcare workers, see the state DOH website.

Anyone who tests positive at home should submit results online at shorturl.at/glmDFor, call 315-286-2325 or email SLCCOVID19SharedMailbox@stlaw.org.

Pennsylvania Department of Health Contact Tracing 1 in 10 COVID-19 Infections | Health

Willie S. Morrissey — Sat, 22 Jan 2022 10:00:00 +0000

The spike in COVID-19 infections in Pennsylvania has prevented state investigators from contacting all positive cases, reflecting an evolving reality and a hampered public health response to the pandemic.

State investigators traced about 10% of the 32,676 COVID-19 infections between Dec. 10, 2021, and Jan. 9, according to state data provided to LNP | Lancasters online. By comparison, about a third of the cases between early June and early July were investigated – or just 6,336.

Without contact from a public health professional, the more than 1.1 million Pennsylvanians who rely on the COVID Alert PA app will not receive accurate information about possible exposures. The app requires HIV-positive people to enter an interviewer code.

The surge in cases has also led investigators to focus on cases of particular concern – those associated with long-term care facilities, those among people under 18 or over 65 as well as clusters.

“After a positive test result, public health professionals attempt to reach as many people as possible to find out where they have been and who they have contacted to advise of potential exposure,” Maggi said. Barton, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Department of Health. , said in an email.

Barton added: “While case investigations and contact tracing are an important part of the COVID-19 response, public health professionals are unable to contact everyone as cases represent in average more than 25,000 cases per day.”

The average daily number of COVID-19 infections has exceeded more than 20,000 since Dec. 22, 2021, according to state data.

Pennsylvania has nearly 500 contact tracers statewide, 237 in the jurisdiction of the state health department, which includes Lancaster County.

Contact tracing is universally considered an essential strategy to prevent the spread of infectious diseases like COVID-19.

“Even as more Pennsylvanians are getting vaccinated every day, case investigations and contact tracing remain critical in our response to COVID-19,” Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam said in July during publication of the department’s monthly report on contact tracing.

State investigators for this report looked at infections from June 10, 2021 through July 9, 2021, conducting 6,336 investigations, which accounted for about a third of positive cases.

The state health department does these surveys for counties, like Lancaster, that don’t have a local health department.

The positivity rate in Lancaster from January 7 to 13 reached 38.2%, indicating an extremely high rate of transmission.

The World Health Organization recommends a rate below 5% to control the spread.

“Unfortunately, during extreme community spread, contact tracing becomes impossible due to widespread disease transmission,” WellSpan Health spokesperson Ryan Coyle said in an email. “We encourage anyone with symptoms with known exposure to get tested as soon as possible.”

The way contact tracing works is that a public health professional contacts people who test positive for COVID-19 to gather information and provide guidance.

The state had provided monthly updates on its contact tracing efforts, but those stopped in July.

The department “didn’t have the bandwidth” to continue updates, Barton said.

“The virus will become endemic”

In the 30 days between Dec. 10, 2021, and Jan. 9, Pennsylvania recorded nearly 248,000 cases of COVID-19 that public health professionals failed to investigate.

With so few people reached by state investigators, much of the contact tracing effort falls on the public.

“Most healthcare organizations are understaffed and overwhelmed right now, so the staff to do contact tracing just aren’t there,” said Jenni Black, quality and compliance manager. at Union Community Care, in an email.

Black added: “When a person knows they have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, they are more likely to be cautious around high-risk loved ones and other people in general.”

Union Community, a federally licensed healthcare center, was among the first organizations in Lancaster County to conduct contact tracing using a Google map.

The county’s effort to trace possible COVID-19 contacts and exposures ended in May 2021.

Patients who test positive – if they know of known contacts – are encouraged to tell close friends, family and neighbors when they first started feeling ill as well as the two days before symptoms .

“At this point in the pandemic, contact tracing has a different role,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease physician and principal investigator at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said in an email to LNP | Lancasters online.

Adalja added: “He should really focus on unusual events, a super spread situation and not something to do anyway. The virus will become endemic and public health measures must reflect this reality. »

All public health officials with whom LNP | LancasterOnline took the floor, repeated the same refrain: that being fully vaccinated with a booster dose remains the best defense against serious diseases.

“Now is not the time for our community to let our guard down; continue to wear a mask, socially distance, wash your hands, avoid large gatherings and get vaccinated and receive a booster if you qualify to protect yourself and your loved ones,” said Dr. Michael Ripchinski, clinical director of Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, said in an email.

KDHE halts COVID-19 contact tracing operations | KSNF/KODE

Willie S. Morrissey — Tue, 18 Jan 2022 14:24:19 +0000

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Department of Health will no longer conduct outreach and contact surveillance beginning February 1, 2022.

“As we enter the third year of this pandemic, public health must begin to adjust the level of response to help ease the strain on the public health system,” said acting secretary Janet Stanek.

KDHE said contract tracing staff will be reassigned to contact investigations.

The department said county health departments across the state are already scaling back their contact tracing efforts and K-12 schools participating in contact tracing may also suspend operations.

“The pandemic is far from over, but this step is a step towards managing COVID-19 as an endemic disease,” Stanek said. “The responsibility to protect ourselves and others belongs to all of us.”

A person who tests positive for COVID-19 will now be responsible for notifying close contacts. If the person has exposed others in high-risk environments, KDHE or the local health department will contact the environment.

As omicron variant of COVID-19 virus continues to spread, KDHE recommends people get vaccinated and given a booster shot, wear masks, get tested, and stay home if exposed or if they are sick.