Oregon says it currently has about 600 contact tracers. But is that enough?

According to official records released Tuesday, state and local public health officials have yet to build a completely robust system for contact tracking four months after the coronavirus began to wipe out Oregon. Hmm.

May Oregon Health Department said health officials Requires at least 631 full-time contact tracers, A key person to reduce the spread of the virus by identifying who may have been exposed to known infections Said the number is likely to increase later To “Over 800 positions.”

What is the total as of June 12? “About 600 people,” health officials said Tuesday.

Records released by the Oregon Department of Health also show that in 11 counties, State officials initially declared that each “must have” Before gradually relaxing the home order restrictions. This includes the Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and Marion counties, which have the most infectious diseases in the state.

State deputy secretary and epidemiologist Dr. Thomas Jean said state and county public health officials have made significant progress. He said that on February 28, the number of workers who could carry out contact tracing was quadrupled as the first infection was confirmed.

“I think this is a good step forward for us as a state,” he said. “It’s really encouraging to see. But it’s not done yet.”

Three weeks after Oregonian / OregonLive submits a request to publish data, the number of workers will be disclosed. State authorities used to I didn’t know how many tracers were working But they will survey the county to find it.

Oregon’s ability to track contacts is already under tension with 7,274 confirmed or presumed infections, despite relatively few cases compared to other states. For example, a recent outbreak at a seafood facility in Lincoln County on the Oregon Coast They sent officials to scramble to increase staff and delay the spread of the virus.

State benchmarks 631 contact tracers are based on 15 workers per 100,000.. Some public health experts say that number should double during the pandemic.

Governor Kate Brown has allowed some Oregon counties to move forward with resumption, even if they have not reached low benchmarks, provided each county submits a staffing plan. Authorities argued that demanding workers in areas with few cases did not make sense.

There are no exact numbers of tracers and many variables are working, but one estimate could require 1,209 workers in Oregon based on recent trends such as: Record level infections in the last two weeks..

The prediction assumes that all infections will be investigated and that each infection has 10 contacts. Even if you halve both metrics, Oregon may need more than 700 tracers.

“It suggests that there may be work to do,” he said. Candice Chen, Associate Professor of George Washington University who is involved in the estimation.

George Washington University and two national organizations representing public health agencies and authorities, Created an online quote.. Analysis by National Public Radio using the estimated amount last week Oregon suggested it is one of seven states with ample tracers.

However, the estimates are updated daily based on the number of infections.

Cheng said Oregon could solve the problem with 600 tracers if the state and local public health agencies could work together seamlessly.

“There are many unknowns,” she said.

Public health authorities use contact tracking to delay the spread of infectious diseases. Workers, called case investigators, interview infected people and ask detailed questions about when they got sick and who they might have been exposed to. Workers, called contact tracers, use that information to notify people who were in close contact with infected people and advise them to quarantine at home.

The aggregate released by Oregon on Tuesday distinguishes tracers and investigators to include all workers, in line with country projections.

“It’s not unbelievable,” said Oregon’s co-epidemologist Jean, saying he could eventually need more than 1,200 across the state.

However, Jeanne also said “no timeline or numbers” for more staff, admitting he did not know the figure of 800 workers previously disclosed by the state in the draft plan. Authorities did not finalize the document.

“We have met our original goals and plan to expand as needed,” Oregon claimed to have achieved her original goals.

The Oregon Department of Health did not claim in the press release that it exceeded 631 full-time workers, but in a carefully stated statement, “the current total of all state and state contact tracers is currently around 600. That’s it.”

This includes nearly 100 state employees “ready to help investigate cases in the county and track contacts as they occur.”

There were some notes on the aggregation.

For example, Multnomah County lists as many as 63 workers, 19 of which are part-time workers and only 6 full-time employees. It also included 45 volunteer or college students in Lane County, and a few workers not yet employed in some jurisdictions.

On the other hand, the four counties did not provide updated labor numbers beyond what was originally shared in April.

The Oregon Department of Health has been assigned to outbreaks in Lincoln and Union counties, but of the additional 100 workers who actually tracked contacts, the Oregon Department of Health was responsible for that. The number could not be determined.

Meanwhile, Portland area officials admitted that they are still working to hire and train tracers.

Maltonoma County spokesman Kate Wilson said officials are planning to reach the state’s goal of 122 full-time equivalent workers by the end of July.

Washington County was listed by the state as having only 68 workers, less than the 90 required. Spokesperson Mary Sawyers said the total number of staff would be 86 by early July.

According to the state, Clackamas County had only 29 full-time equivalent workers, far below the 63 required. A county spokesman did not say when the county would meet that standard, but wrote in a statement that “it will continue to be employed over time.”

Marion County officials, who were reportedly only 30 of the 52 required workers, did not respond to requests for comment.

It seems that more contact tracers helped Oregon investigate the infection.

State authorities have set benchmarks that investigators should try 95% of the time to contact infected person within 24 hours..

According to state statistics, workers regularly failed to hit it until May. But now, the benchmark is regularly exceeded.

However, it is still unclear if it is a really useful indicator.

Jean, a state health aide, was unaware of the exact definitions used by the state. He assumed that the authorities actually needed to talk to that person-rather than simply contacting someone.

“I don’t know how it helps,” he said, tracking whether someone just left a voicemail.

An agency spokesperson later confirmed that this metric tracks only “tried contacts.”

-Brad Schmidt; [email protected]503-294-7628; Azuki

Subscribe to Oregonian / Oregon Live Newsletter And Podcast Check out the latest news and top articles.