State Epidemiologist Says Contact Tracing Is Vital To Reopening The State

Thursday, April 23rd 2020, 12:49 pm

By: Erica Rankin

The Oklahoma State Department of Health has been contact tracing as soon as COVID-19 was in Oklahoma.

It all starts with a phone call from the health department to someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus. The contact tracer will ask a series of questions to piece together where that person has been and who they may have been in close contact with.

One hundred to 200 people are manning the phones. But they are working to train more people to do it to keep up with the demand.

State Epidemiologist, Dr. Aaron Windelboe, said that contact tracing is vital to reopening the state, but it isn’t the only thing.

“The other half is testing,” said Wendelboe. “When we do contact tracing we really need to get people tested quickly.”

Wendelboe also stressed that any information given to a contact tracer during a phone call will remain private.

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