There’s a growing need for more contact tracers in Hawaii
By Nicole Tam
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HONOLULU (KITV) — With the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Hawaii, there’s a growing need for contact tracing. There’s currently about 270 contact tracers across the state. With hundreds of new cases to track everyday, more help is needed.
Because of the drastic increase in the number of COVID cases, contact tracers now have to prioritize who to trace, concentrating on certain groups such as schools, churches and other high risk settings.
“By the time you have one case, we have several other cases. We have several people showing symptoms. We’re finding at that event alone, we have more than 100 contacts already,” Jason Dela Cruz, Big Island office of public health preparedness planner, said.
The Health Department’s COVID-19 dashboard includes data on what percentage of reported cases are successfully contacted. The Top two barriers to tracing are people not answering their phones and refusing interviews. Last month, there was a drop in the number of people answering calls from week to week.
“I can tell you, just from the phone calls my team members have made, a lot of it has to do with the fact we’re dealing with a lot of misinformation,” Chantelle Matagi, Department of Health contact tracing lead investigator for Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, said.
If an individual tests positive, healthcare professionals say there are ways to help make the tracing process easier. Notify people you were with in the days leading up to the test result. If you’re receiving the contact tracing call, quarantine at home and get tested five days after the last contact with the infected person.
“If you’re vaccinated and you’re a close contact, you don’t need to quarantine but we still recommend you get tested five days later. If you develop symptoms, then you’re back in the I’m sick category, and you need to get tested,” Dr. Janet Berreman, Kauai District Health officer, said.
Hawaii Army National Guard members also contribute to the efforts. Their COVID task force contract lasts until September 30, unless the governor approves an extension through the end of the year. If you receive a call from a contact tracer, the best way to contribute is to answer the call and all the questions honestly.
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