VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Contact tracing is like doing detective work to keep the number of COVID-19 cases to a minimum.  First you learn of the person who may have the virus or tested positive for it.  Then the goal is to isolate that person (for 14 days) so they do not spread it further and find out who they have come in direct contact with.

The contacts are then ‘contacted’ and are asked to self-isolate for 14 days, to determine whether they have COVID-19 or to isolate because they have COVID-19 but are asymptomatic (have the virus but don’t have symptoms).

Contact tracing is very effective in a state like North Dakota where we have low levels of the virus.  It allows people to be out and about…living more normal lives.  As soon as a new case is identified, that person’s contacts would be identified and then isolated, different from the ‘stay at home’ policy, where everyone is asked to stay at home most of the time, keeping the average person from living their normal life.

Contact tracing works when people know and remember who their contacts have been should they develop COVID-19.  City County Health District recommends that you keep a daily list of who you’ve come in contact with and utilize the free CARE 19 mobile app to help you remember locations you’ve visited.

Any and all of the information that the contact tracer obtains is totally protected and kept private.  Contact tracing does not require that the sick person’s identity be disclosed.

Contact tracing may involve a business sending out a notice that people diagnosed with COVID-19 had been there.  If someone visited the business on certain days (same day as the person with the virus) they would be asked to self-quarantine.

Contact tracing takes a lot of person-power, but City County Health District is ready; we have staff who are trained to take on this important job which will help all of us live our lives as close to normal as possible, meanwhile containing the virus.

For more information on COVID-19 go to www.health.nd.gov and click on coronavirus (more information) or call their hotline at 1-866-207-2880 or contact City County Health District about any concerns or needs that you may have (845-8518).  If you or your family would need a cloth mask, they can be obtained at City County Health District.

Story submitted to NewsDakota.com via of City County Health District Office in Valley City.