A robust network of “contact tracers” is needed to control the spread of the coronavirus and eventually reopen the country, experts say, a massive undertaking for a public health system that has been understaffed and underfunded for decades.
State and local health departments are lobbying Congress for billions of dollars to hire at least 100,000 contact tracers — workers responsible for tracking down people who have been exposed to confirmed coronavirus cases and asking them to self-quarantine.
The goal is to break the chains of transmission within communities and prevent outbreaks before they happen, especially when a second wave of the virus hits in the fall. Continue reading.