CTA Cares
We want you to know trends, terms, and safety guidance as part of the CSACares family in this ongoing coronavirus era. A whole host of epidemiological terms have entered common public use, thus let us take a moment to true up meaning, with the help of the numerous media and sources, like the CDC, Time Inc, medical and government agencies. There is the now-ubiquitous “social distancing,” and the newly politicized “flatten the curve” or the wishful “crush the curve.” As industries, states and local governments seek a way out of lockdowns that have brought their economies to a near-standstill, “contact tracing” has made its way into everyday conversation as a potential tool to nurture everyone’s “coming out” plans to move forward. But what exactly is contact tracing, and how can CTACares help society battle the COVID-19 epidemic? Here are the basics of this time-tested public health strategy, and our hope for us to assist you with TRACING in the coronavirus
pandemic:
01
What is contact tracing?
Contact tracing is a little like detective work: Trained staff interview people who have been diagnosed with a contagious disease to figure out who they may have recently been in contact with. Then, they go tell those people they may have been exposed, sometimes encouraging them to quarantine themselves to prevent spreading the disease any further. Think of it as part public health work, and part investigation.
Crucial importance of identifying those individuals who have been exposed quickly and isolating or quarantining them.
02
How does contact tracing work?
Once someone has been confirmed to be infected with a virus, such as through a positive COVID-19 test, contact tracers try to track down others who have had recent prolonged exposure to that person when they may have been infectious. Typically, that exposure means being within 6 feet of the person for more than 10 minutes, says Dr. Breeher, though in a health care setting, such as a hospital, the bar is lowered to five minutes.
Healthcare workers then try to reach out to every one of those contacts, tell them that they may have been exposed, and giving them instructions on what to do next. That may include telling them about possible symptoms or directing them to self-isolate.
03
Why is CTACares better prepared and equipped to handle YOUR contact tracing?
For one, contact tracing is a people/technology intensive process. Interviewing infectious patients and reaching out to dozens of contacts takes time. For that reason, our mutual success- tracing- works best where “infection hot spots” pop up and need to be aggressively addressed. It is in the community’s best interest. If not handled properly and quickly, results in an overwhelmed health departments’ and hospitals response to be able to contact/trace all those individuals. That is where the technology and people of CTA pick up and carry this out to tamp down the outbreak/hot spot.
With a virus like COVID-19, which spreads through the air, and in so many ways, things can get complicated quickly. CTA tracers might end up trying to find those who sat near an infected individual on a plane or a bus, for instance, even if the sick person never met them. Overwhelming capabilities on that “hot spot” is provided and communicated to you in agreed upon fashion. CTACares technology can assist when there is trouble getting in touch with contacts, like if phone records are not up to date, doesn’t have a phone, or if an infected patient is already too sick to help identify their recent contacts. CTA takes the mystery out, and provides answers, using proven protocols, methods/tools and compliant to handle your present tracing needs.