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SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) – A city-wide contact tracing system in San Francisco will reach residents when they have been exposed to the coronavirus.
The city and county of San Francisco averages 130 new cases of COVID-19 per day, more than 900 per week.
To try to track down and stop the spread of the disease, the 200 contact tracers at the San Francisco Department of Public Health are adapting their strategy to accommodate the growing workload, making phone calls and in-person visits to text messages.
“I think it’s a much easier way to connect with people and get answers,” said Joe Kaufman of San Francisco.
Within the text, there are links to forms to fill out to find out if you can safely isolate yourself and who you may have been in close contact with while you were contagious. The program also goes back to when you may have started spreading the disease asymptomatically.
“It has been used a lot on college campuses. You know, where everyone hangs around looking at their cell phones all day, “says UCSF epidemiologist Dr. George Rutherford.” The University of Arizona has had some success in informing people about contact tracing. and created enormous efficiencies. ”
Dr Susan Philip of the Department of Public Health says tracing the contacts of patients is the best way to eliminate an epidemic.
“The more people respond to the call or message, the better our chances of gaining control of the spread of COVID-19 in San Francisco and accelerating the reopening of our city,” said Dr. Phillip.
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