Coronavirus contact tracking is the key to keeping Oregon open. Do enough people play together?

Summer is approaching. Lockdown is released. And when you become one of the Oregon people you are expected to get New coronavirus When everyday life resumes, you will probably be asked to share more personal information with government investigators than your mother knows about you.

Friends, colleagues, and others are asked to go through quarantine for up to two weeks, even if they feel unwell.

But that’s what is needed to contain the upcoming revival that scientists believe will hit-and while other nations and parts of the United States are experiencing while the nation begins Resuming the delicate dance..

State public health leaders say 9 out of every 10 people who get sick or exposed Contact trace Oregon to beat the second wave of infection.

[[[[Oregon Coronavirus: 7 Things You Should Know About Contact Tracking]

They admit that it is a tremendous demand for those who are shuddered at the prospect of government invasion, struggling to pay bills, and rocking the blues at home.

“We’re calling people to sacrifice, so that others don’t have to,” said Dr. Paul Sheerak, state health director for epidemics.

Just enough does not guarantee success.

“We’re taking the strategy we think we are our best hope, and we’ll see what happens,” Cieslak said.

“The only tool we have”

Long-standing but time-consuming contact tracking is a weapon that has long been used in public health to combat measles, salmonella, and sexually transmitted disease outbreaks in the area.

The stakes behind this work have proved to be much higher in the face of a fatal outbreak of the disease, often quietly spreading through the state, with few medical options to stop it. I will.

4,000 or more COVID-19 tests are now positive in Oregon, killing at least 151 people. Hundreds of people are hospitalized, many of whom are killed by mechanical ventilation.

Early tracking efforts to track new coronavirus patients in the state and those they may have been exposed to Quickly contracted.. The public health sector was overwhelmed before more than 1,000 known cases.

Governor Kate Brown Aggressive home orders In some cases, the county was able to enhance its contact tracking program and buy enough time to add a large number of new investigators to the team.

New modeling released Friday Coronavirus epidemics suggest that it has slowed considerably in Oregon, which already has one of the lowest infection and mortality rates in the country.

State health officials say they will eventually need at least 800 tracers, sufficient to track and monitor thousands of new positive cases and intimate contact expected in the coming months.

Oregon hasn’t reached that number yet, Experts say you may need, Based on state population. However, we will continue to be at the heart of the state to safely resume.

“Until we have an effective treatment or vaccine for COVID-19, testing, tracking, and isolation are the only tools we need to control this disease in Oregon without returning to business outages or other extreme measures. “Oregon Department of Health said Pat Allen. This month’s press conference.

“Most people want to help”

The number of public health inspectors in Multnomah County, which aims to reopen on June 12, has increased from 7 to 50 in a few weeks. To meet the state’s requirement that the county has 15 contact tracers per 100,000 inhabitants, a contact tracking team of 122 is ultimately needed.

Currently, these investigators working in remote areas will be notified if county residents are positive for coronavirus. You will then need to contact the patient and give a telephone interview. All the while, the clock is ticking.

These interviews can last for an hour or more, so investigators will investigate individual details. They want to know the patient’s race and ethnicity. Their place of employment. Their medical history.

They also need to pinpoint exactly when a patient first experienced COVID-19 symptoms and establish a detailed timeline of his or her activity two days before.

“It’s good enough for a ruthless phone,” said Dr Jennifer Vines, a health officer in Maltonoma County. “Establishing trust is the only way we can do it.”

Good news, according to Vines and other county health authorities in Oregon. Most people are willing to share this personal information when they can. Some people, such as those with unstable housing conditions and those with serious illnesses, cannot be interviewed.

Later, according to health authorities in several counties, some were reluctant to provide information about their particular situation or the names of the people around them.

It also includes public health skeptics and members of groups left behind by society. Some are immigrants, including undocumented people.

“Many of our communities have historically had good reason to distrust the government,” Vines said.

The county’s health officials are in charge of minorities or services, including hiring contact-tracking workforces that reflect local demographics and are able to work in the required language, and partnering with groups with strong community ties. We are taking steps to focus on the scarce population.

But even the best efforts are not enough.

In Marion County, Coronavirus highest state infection rate, About 10% of COVID-19 patients identified since May 1 refused or were unable to interview, health officials said.

Oregonian / OregonLive sought similar numbers from Multnomah and Washington counties, as well as from the Oregon Department of Health, which oversees coronavirus cases throughout the state. The county and health agencies did not provide them.

Katrina Rotenberger, director of public health in Marion County, said the majority of those who refused to participate in the contact-tracking interview had no specific reason for the decision.

“Most people are happy to help and play their part in controlling the spread of the virus,” Rothenberger said.

However, the cause of many recent infections remains unknown. In order for the county to continue the process of resumption, state health officials want to track more than 70% of new COVID-19 cases with existing known infections. According to the draft draft It was released from the governor office.

Currently, at least 13 counties do not meet this requirement. Published data It is shown on the Oregon Department of Health website. The same is true across the state, tracking 66% of new infections to previous cases.

“Our greatest challenge”

After finishing with COVID-19 patients, health investigators should focus on their close contact. The state now considers those who spend more than 15 minutes in the immediate vicinity of the infected person.

Most patients had no more than four close contacts during Oregon closure. However, the numbers are expected to increase as more and more people return to work, go to family gatherings, or attend religious worship.

State health director Allen states that tracking contacts in Oregon will only succeed if 9 out of 10 people work together and follow the guidelines for completely voluntary contact tracking.

For close contacts, this means quarantineing at home for up to 2 weeks and checking in daily with a health researcher, according to the written guidelines of the health authorities. Those people shouldn’t be traveling to a grocery store, exercising outside, or coming within 6 feet of others at home, even if they’re feeling unwell.

A growing body of evidence suggests that people infected with COVID-19 may be transmitted for several days before they show signs of illness, such as fever, dry cough, and shortness of breath. Others will not get sick.

The Oregon State Health Authority also continues to recommend not testing asymptomatic people, including almost everyone who comes into close contact with known cases.

“Testing COVID-19 asymptomatic people is useless because of the low sensitivity of molecular testing in asymptomatic people.” Read State Testing Guidance.. “Thus, negative results do not significantly increase the conviction that a person is not infected.”

Oregon’s current policy violates the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendation for contact tracking. It says All known COVID-19 cases need to be tested for intimate contact.

Infectious health experts also agree

“People who know they are infected may find it easier to comply with quarantine requirements,” said Joshua Salomon, a professor of medicine at Stanford University and a member of the school’s health policy center. ..

Recent research Testing all contacts of the model published by Salomon and his colleagues, which has not been peer-reviewed, has been found to increase the success of the tracking program in each scenario.

It’s a daunting task to convince someone who doesn’t look sick with or without a test to stay at home for a long time. And there’s no way to be sure that those who promise to do so will follow.

“It’s going to be our biggest challenge,” said Mary Sawyers, a Washington County spokeswoman scheduled to reopen on Monday.

Several months of social distance have already tested the patience and determination of many who want to return to normal life. Some recent coronavirus outbreaks Umatilla And Deschutes The county dates back to a small family or rally where one participant infected several others.

Meanwhile, occurred in April Townview Farms Fairview CanaryIt highlights how difficult it is for many low-wage industries to stay home where dozens of workers have been infected.

The complaint filed with the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Department claims that some (mostly Latino) employees of the canning factory returned to work a few days after a positive COVID-19 test result. .. Others said that being ill at home threatened their work.

Health officials in multiple counties said they were aware of the financial constraints faced by many people infected with coronaviruses and were looking for ways to reduce the burden.

Still, there are many uncertainties.

“We can’t predict exactly how this will be resolved,” said Vines, a health official in Maltonoma County. “It’s a difficult collective idea of ​​how our culture works in general.”

-Shane Dixon Cabanafu; 503-294-7632

Email to [email protected]

Follow us on Twitter Azuki

Subscribe to Oregonian / Oregon Live Newsletter And Podcast For the latest news and top news