Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Health today shared its weekly update on Pennsylvania’s COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing data and encouraged Pennsylvanians to download the COVID Alert PA app to aid in contact tracing efforts.
“As we complete case investigations, we see that residents are having more and more close contacts to report,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “We need to emphasize the importance of limiting your travels and gatherings and to continue to be alert as this virus remains a threat across our communities. Pennsylvanians are encouraged to wash their hands frequently, practice social distancing, wear a mask, avoid gatherings, and download the COVID Alert PA app on their phones to be notified if they came into contact with someone who later tested positive.”
Contact tracing is the process of identifying, notifying, and monitoring anyone who came in close contact with an individual who has COVID-19 while that individual was infectious. The contact tracing process is not possible without a case investigation by a public health professional. Case investigators make the initial call to those with positive COVID-19 test results spending 30 to 60 minutes asking questions to ensure all potential close contacts are identified.
Between Sunday, November 15 and Saturday, November 21, there were 44,525 COVID-19 cases statewide, an increase of 9,806 cases compared to the previous seven-day period. Case investigations are being prioritized to address those cases that present the highest likelihood of leading to an outbreak. Of the 44,525 newly reported cases, 17 percent of all cases had a case investigation started within 24 hours of receiving the positive report. Public health professionals will continue calling to complete the case investigation after the 24-hour period. An additional 4 percent of all cases had a case investigation started within 48 hours.
Although public health professionals may call to start the case investigation, not all cases to obtain additional information are successful. The Department of Health leaves voicemails, texts, and sends a letter to the home requesting a return call. There were 5,788 people, or 13 percent of cases, in this reported week that were successfully contacted by a public health professional statewide.
After the initial case investigation is complete, contact tracing begins. Within the same time period of November 15 to November 21, there were 1,647 contact tracing staff working with local and county health entities, partner organizations and the Regional Response Health Collaboration Program within the Department of Human Services as well as volunteers from Co-County Wellness in Berks County and Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health. These staff monitored 11,328 contacts who were identified during the case investigations.
Currently, all of the allotted 1,000 people have been hired through Insight Global. Some of these contact tracers have been promoted to perform case investigations to meet the immediate needs of increased caseloads. There are 40 supervisors, 12 regional field managers and coordinators, and 10 care coordinators who will help to refer Pennsylvanians to services during quarantine across the commonwealth.
Since the implementation of the Contact Tracing Management System in early October through November 21 in those areas of the state where Pennsylvania Department of Health is responsible for contact tracing, there have been:
- 44,000 contacts have been processed for areas where PA DOH has jurisdiction;
- 33,900 people, or 76 percent of the total contacts identified, have been effectively reached to communicate their quarantine status and offer ongoing symptom monitoring;
- 8,500 people, or about 19 percent of the total contacts, were not reached; and
- 1,100 were still in the process of being contacted.
On September 22, the department launched COVID Alert PA, a free mobile app that uses Bluetooth technology to let a person know that they have been exposed to COVID-19 without compromising the identity or location of either the person using the app, or of the person to whom they may have been exposed. There have been over 622,000 downloads thus far.
In addition to the traditional case investigations and contact tracing process, there have been 326 cases that confirmed their positivity and uploaded their random ID’s through the app. These uploads generated 144 exposure alerts to persons who have downloaded the app on their phones and who were in close contact (six feet for 15 minutes or more) to the case. Of those who received the alerts, 21 individuals requested a call back for further assistance from a trained contact tracer.
As the contact tracing program expands, the Department of Health continues to work in partnership with over 150 organizations, in addition to the county and municipal health departments, through regional partnerships to help gather and answer questions, identify problems and find solutions to improve contact tracing efforts within the region. Each regional partnership has met at least once, and includes public health staff, health providers, academic institutions, community organizations, and other stakeholders interested in helping to coordinate and engage around contact tracing efforts.
Organizations and entities interested in partnering in these efforts should reach out to RA-DHCONTACTTRACING@pa.gov.
You can find more information on the state’s contact tracing efforts at the Department of Health’s website here.
The Wolf Administration stresses the role Pennsylvanians play in helping to reduce the spread of COVID-19:
- Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Cover any coughs or sneezes with your elbow, not your hands.
- Clean surfaces frequently.
- Stay home to avoid spreading COVID-19, especially if you are unwell.
- If you must go out, you are required to wear a mask when in a business or where it is difficult to maintain proper social distancing.
- Download the COVID Alert PA app and make your phone part of the fight. The free app can be found in the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store by searching for “covid alert pa”.
