Community Trace: Rapid Establishment of a Volunteer Contact Tracing Program for COVID-19
Linda M. Niccolai, Tyler Shelby, Brian Weeks, Christopher S. Schenck, Justin Goodwin, Rachel Hennein, Meghan Rossini, Jennifer Vazquez, Dorothyann van Rhijn, James I. Meek, Maritza Bond · American Journal of Public Health · 2020
Contact tracing was one of the core public health strategies implemented during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this essay, we describe the rapid establishment of a volunteer contact tracing program in New Haven, Connecticut. We describe successes of the program and challenges that were faced. Going forward, contact tracing efforts can best be supported by increased funding to state and local health departments for a stable workforce and use of evidence-based technological innovations.