Recent Spike in COVID Cases Has Overwhelmed Contact Tracers in Marathon County; Abbotsford School Board Votes for High School t
Tuesday, September 22nd, 2020 -- 9:14 AM
(Marshfield News Herald) -A recent spike in COVID-19 cases has left contact tracers overwhelmed, according to the Marathon County Health Department.Public information officer Judy Burrows wrote in a news release that cases in the county are now coming in too quickly for its 21 contact tracers to handle in a timely fashion. “We are doing our best to keep up, but cases are coming in faster than we can respond,” wrote Burrows. The health department's contact tracers reach out to people who have become infected with COVID-19 to learn where they have been recently, and who they were with, especially people who have had prolonged contact with the infected person. The tracers can then reach out to people who have potentially been exposed and ask them to self-isolate to avoid passing the virus on to more people. Burrows said that while the number of cases the contact tracers have handled per day has varied throughout the pandemic, it has recently been around 20 to 40. "We slowed the spread in the spring by staying home," Burrows said, but the tracers' job has been made harder as people have begun to go to more public places and social gatherings since the statewide safer-at-home order was lifted in May after a state Supreme Court ruling. That means people who test positive for COVID-19 have had more contacts the health department needs to reach out to. For example, Burrows said, if contact tracers have 40 cases in a day, and each of those cases has had 10 contacts, that's 400 calls for tracers to make. If tracers have more cases than they can handle, Burrows said, it delays when people find out that they have been exposed, giving the virus more time to spread before that person can quarantine. Burrows said the re-opening of schools was a factor in the increased number of cases, but not the sole source.
For example, the Abbotsford Board of Education made the decision to move grades 9-12 to a virtual-only instructional platform through Friday, October 2, 2020. This decision was not made lightly and took into consideration the drastic uptick of positive COVID-19 cases among students. By canceling face-to-face classes over these 14 days (starting today), the 80+ students that have already been contacted by County Health Services to quarantine due to contact tracing and those who have yet to be contacted, it is the district's hope that they can 'stop the spread' where it stands. The district asks parents/guardians, to please keep your grades 9-12 students home over these next two weeks. If your student exhibits any of the telltale signs of having this virus, please contact the appropriate county health services to seek further guidance. A county medical expert will advise you as to the next steps. In the meantime, all 9-12 students are to report to their classes virtually during the time frame in which each class meets. Staff will diligently be preparing and presenting lessons throughout these two weeks.
It will be solely your responsibility to report to class on time as always. Attendance will be taken. In the release, Burrows pleaded with residents to self-isolate if they have tested positive for COVID-19, or if they have been exposed to someone else with the virus. That includes staying home, separating themselves from other family members to protect them, and not going into public places. She said that in addition to wearing masks in public, the department recommends "not attending large events and gatherings, or gatherings with persons who are not part of your circle of close contacts." Burrows said the health department was currently looking for more contact tracers.
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