Contact Tracing and Compliance Key to Avoiding 2,500 Daily COVID Cases by Year End
Dallas County and the nation are staring at a steep rise in COVID-19 cases. Eight months into the pandemic, little has changed in terms of broad strategy to contain the spread. Wearing a mask, hand-washing, social-distancing and avoiding large gatherings are the leading strategies to flatten the curve until a vaccine is available.
We’ve had many new terms worked into our daily vocabulary since the pandemic, such as flatten the curve, pivot and social-distancing. Now “compliance” is on deck. It was brought up several times last week at the Dallas County Commissioners Court meeting while Dr. Philip Huang, the director of Dallas County Health and Human Services (DCHHS), briefed the court on COVID-19 trends. A major factor to changing the trajectory for the spike is “compliance” or its lack.
In June, the county health department and Parkland Health and Hospital System launched a contact-tracing plan that involved hiring more than 250 people to work in a 27,500-square-foot office building that was previously home to a telecommunications company. The $10 million to fund the project came from federal coronavirus relief money.
The plan is to carry out a massive contact tracing effort allowing for real-time data on hotspots, ultimately blunting the spread of the virus. Contact tracing is a widely supported model, especially by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After masks and social distancing protocols, and until we have a vaccine, contact tracing is a major player.
Read more: https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/dallas-countys-contact-tracing-covid-pandemic-11958242
