tracing Archives - Mediarabe

Where did Victoria go so wrong with contact tracing and have they fixed it?

October 14, 2020

Victoria’s contact tracing system has faced criticism in the past for being inefficient, with officials flying to New South Wales in September to learn from that state.

a person in a car: Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

© Provided by The Guardian
Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Comparisons are difficult in a pandemic because each outbreak has its own unique characteristics. That said, there are some key features that underpin the differing responses of NSW and Victoria when it comes to contact tracing.

Fundamentally, NSW’s system of decentralised local area health districts meant when the second wave hit, that state was able to draw on teams embedded in their local communities to manage contact tracing. These teams worked independently but also in concert under the mothership of NSW Health.

a person in a car: ‘NSW’s system of decentralised local area health districts meant when the second wave hit, that state was able to draw on teams embedded in their local communities to manage contact tracing.’

© Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images
‘NSW’s system of decentralised local area health districts meant when the second wave hit, that state was able to draw on teams embedded in their

Michigan health department issues capacity limit, contact tracing rules

October 10, 2020

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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services issued new rules Friday that reinstate capacity limits at 50% at restaurants, museums, retail stores and libraries, and require workers to wear masks if they cannot maintain six feet of distance.

The epidemic order allows for gatherings at professional sports facilities, entertainment venues, cinemas and theaters so long as patrons not of the same household can maintain six feet of distance.

Those entertainment venues as well as barber shop, salons, fitness centers, bowling alleys and skating rinks must keep accurate records of guests, their phone numbers and the time they visited to aid in contact tracing.

In-home services such as cleaners, painters or maintenance workers must keep accurate appointment records in order to aid in contact tracing.

The order lifts any closures on bars, but bars and restaurants may only serve alcohol if parties are seated at tables that are six feet

White House now has two CDC epidemiologists helping with contact tracing

October 9, 2020

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President Trump and at least 34 White House staff members and other contacts have tested positive for the virus, according to Wednesday’s senior leadership brief on the covid-19 response prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Some of those people are suspected of having become infected at White House and Republican National Committee events.

The White House by Tuesday completed contact tracing related to the president’s infection and cases involving several other people, a senior White House official said, raising concerns among infectious-disease experts about whether a thorough investigation could be completed so quickly. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said anyone meeting the CDC’s definition of “close contact” with someone who tested positive had been notified and given health recommendations.

It remains unclear when the White House began contact tracing. If the effort did not begin right away, or go far back

D.C. Health Department Raps White House For ‘Limited Contact Tracing,’ Urges Workers To Get Tested For Covid-19

October 8, 2020

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Topline

Health officials from the Washington, D.C. Department of Health and nine local jurisdictions wrote an open letter Thursday criticizing the White House for insufficient contact tracing for the coronavirus outbreak and urging people who work there to get tested and contact local health experts for guidance.

President Trump Arrives Back At White House After Stay At Walter Reed Medical Center For Covid — President Trump returns to the White House after being discharged from Walter Reed Medical Center on … [+] Oct. 5.

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Key Facts

The officials noted the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event to celebrate the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, saying their preliminary understanding is that there has been “limited contact tracing” which means there may be staff and residents who have been exposed to someone with the virus.

They reiterated the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guideline which recommends any individual who comes within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes

D.C. health department can’t reach White House for COVID-19 tracing, Bowser says

October 8, 2020

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials with the Washington, D.C., Department of Health have been unsuccessful in trying to connect with the White House to assist with contact tracing and other protocols regarding the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that has infected President Donald Trump and several senior staff members.

“We have reached out to the White House on a couple of different levels, a political level and a public health level,” Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said Monday. She added that a D.C. health department representative who reached out to the White House “had a very cursory conversation that we don’t consider a substantial contact from the public health side.”

The lack of communication represents an unwelcome obstacle for the D.C. government, which has worked to contain the spread of the virus through mandatory mask requirements and limits on the size of gatherings.

Bowser acknowledged on Monday that White House medical officials “have their

White House Rejects CDC Offer for Help with Contact Tracing After Outbreak: Reports

October 7, 2020

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Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images Judge Amy Coney Barrett (at podium) speaks in the Rose Garden of the White House on Sept. 26, 2020, as President Donald Trump announces her nomination for associate justice of the Supreme Court.

The White House reportedly turned down an offer from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to assist with contact tracing following a Sept. 26 event for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, despite more than 10 guests there — including President Donald Trump — all testing positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Contact tracing is a “fundamental” step in identifying “who may have been infected through exposure to” a COVID-19 patient, federal health experts say.

“This process prevents further transmission of disease by separating people who have (or may have) an infectious disease from people who do not,” according to the CDC, the country’s leading health agency. “It is

The Health 202: Genetic tracing could show how coronavirus spread through White House

October 7, 2020

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White House spokesman Judd Deere said tracing has been done for people who had contact with Trump. But it’s the kind recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which involves merely tracking people who were nearby those known to be infected.

“Contact tracing has been done by the White House Medical Unit consistent with CDC guidelines,” Deere said, though The Post has reported many of the hundreds of people potentially exposed to the president found out via media reports of his diagnosis.

Coding coronavirus samples would give a clear picture of whether recent White House events were so-called “superspreaders.”

This is an approach researchers have tried around the country.

They’ve watched the virus accumulate a catalogue of mutations as it moved through Zip codes in the Houston area. They’ve used genetic sequencing to trace how the virus spread outward from a conference in Boston, infecting people from Alaska

People who test positive for COVID in Jefferson County being asked to do their own contact tracing to help health department manage workload

October 6, 2020

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October 6, 2020 2:41 PM

Jamie Perez

Posted: October 6, 2020 2:41 PM

Wisconsin Covid 19 Patient Contact Tracing 1280

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Wis. — The Jefferson County Department of Health Director Gail Scott said residents are now being asked to do their own contact tracing if they test positive for COVID-19.

Scott said when the first cases started to appear in Jefferson County, she saw an average of five cases per day.

“It got to the point where we had an average of 25 cases per day,” Scott said. “With an increase of 79% over the last two weeks, it just got to the point where the cases were coming in way too fast.”

Scott said residents were asked to do their own contact tracing starting last Friday. Scott said not enough time has passed to know if this new effort is working or if people are cooperating but she’s hopeful that people will jump on board.

White House rebuffed CDC offer to lead contact tracing investigation of Trump outbreak

October 6, 2020

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The White House rejected on Monday an offer from the nation’s public health experts to lead the effort to track down and notify Americans who were exposed to a growing coronavirus outbreak linked to President Donald Trump and several top aides.

a man wearing a suit and tie walking down the street: US President Donald Trump walks to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 2, 2020, as he heads to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, after testing positive for Covid-19.

© SAUL LOEB, AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump walks to Marine One prior to departure from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, October 2, 2020, as he heads to Walter Reed Military Medical Center, after testing positive for Covid-19.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is widely considered the federal government’s authority in contact tracing, the public health best practice of reaching out to people at risk of acquiring an infectious disease and to identify others who were subsequently exposed.

Robert R. Redfield wearing glasses and looking at the camera: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Commissioner Robert Redfield testifies at a hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on September 23, 2020 in Washington, DC.

© Alex Edelman, Pool
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Commissioner Robert Redfield testifies at a hearing of the Senate

White House not contact tracing Rose Garden event considered possible ‘superspreader’: report

October 5, 2020

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The White House is not contact tracing guests and staff who attended a Rose Garden event for the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, despite many viewing it as a possible spreader of the coronavirus, The New York Times reported on Monday.

The celebration, which took place 10 days ago, is viewed by some as the potential epicenter or “superspreader” of the White House’s coronavirus outbreak because it has been followed by at least 11 attendees testing positive for COVID-19, including President TrumpDonald John TrumpQuestions remain unanswered as White House casts upbeat outlook on Trump’s COVID-19 fight White House staffers get email saying to stay home if they experience coronavirus symptoms White House says ‘appropriate precautions’ were taken for Trump’s outing to see supporters MORE, first lady Melania TrumpMelania TrumpGOP lawmaker calls on Pelosi to apologize for response to Trump contracting coronavirus White