Contact tracing IDs more than 4,000 exposed to covid-19 in Pennsylvania

More than 4,000 people who were exposed to covid-19 have been identified through contact tracing efforts throughout the state, the Pennsylvania Department of Health announced Friday.

“We are now equipped with hundreds of contact tracers that can help us mitigate the spread of this virus,” Secretary of Health Rachel Levine said in a statement. “We are proud to partner with dedicated individuals and organizations across the state to protect our neighbors who have come into contact with someone with covid-19.”

The state has employed 500 trained contact tracers throughout Pennsylvania, including 130 nurses, according to a news release. The tracers are being assisted by six county health departments and four municipal health departments who take primary responsibility within their jurisdictions.

Additionally, more than 800 contact tracers have volunteered through the ServPA platform, at least 50 through AmeriCorps and hundreds more through other community organizations, the release said.

Regional consortiums will use this summer to assess the number of contact tracers needed in each area of the state, recruit contact tracers, train and educate them. The consortiums also will coordinate information and data, the news release said, “to ensure consistency within the region.”

According to the news release, the regional consortiums will create a “sustainable infrastructure” that will support growing contact tracing efforts in each region.

The southwest region of the state has already mobilized with the help of the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, the release said. The Department of Health will begin consortium meetings in the Northwest, Northcentral, Northeast, Southcentral and Southeast regions.

Gov. Tom Wolf said in May the state would begin hiring civilians to build the Commonwealth Civilian Coronavirus Corps, dedicated to contact tracing work. At that time, he said lack of contact tracing played a significant role in why the southwestern part of the state was delayed in moving to the yellow phase of reopening.

Tech companies and developers have been touting the value of cellphone data for contact tracing since the pandemic began, though some argue it could become an issue of data privacy. Carnegie Mellon University developed a contact tracing application using ultrasound technology, and tech giants Apple and Google are developing their own application.

As of Sunday, there were 81,730 positive cases of covid-19 in Pennsylvania, and 6,423 deaths. While the statewide stay-at-home order has been lifted, mask-wearing is still required inside businesses in the yellow and green phases.