Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Date: 25 September, 2020

R. Ryan Lash, PhD; Catherine V. Donovan, PhD; Aaron T. Fleischauer, PhD; Zack S. Moore, MD; Gibbie Harris, MSPH; Susan Hayes, MEd; Meg Sullivan, MD; April Wilburn; Jonathan Ong; Dana Wright; Raynard Washington, PhD; Amy Pulliam; DHSc; Brittany Byers; Heather P. McLaughlin, PhD; Emilio Dirlikov, PhD; Dale A. Rose, PhD; Henry T. Walke, MD; Margaret A. Honein, PhD; Contact Tracing Assessment Team; Patrick K. Moonan, DrPH; John E. Oeltmann, PhD

Contact tracing is a strategy implemented to minimize the spread of communicable diseases (1,2). Prompt contact tracing, testing, and self-quarantine can reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (3,4). Community engagement is important to encourage participation in and cooperation with SARS-CoV-2 contact tracing (5). Substantial investments have been made to scale up contact tracing for COVID-19 in the United States. During June 1–July 12, 2020, the incidence of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina increased 183%, from seven to 19 per 100,000 persons per day* (6). To assess local COVID-19 contact tracing implementation, data from two counties in North Carolina were analyzed during a period of high incidence. Health department staff members investigated 5,514 (77%) persons with COVID-19 in Mecklenburg County and 584 (99%) in Randolph Counties. No contacts were reported for 48% of cases in Mecklenburg and for 35% in Randolph. Among contacts provided, 25% in Mecklenburg and 48% in Randolph could not be reached by telephone and were classified as nonresponsive after at least one attempt on 3 consecutive days of failed attempts. The median interval from specimen collection from the index patient to notification of identified contacts was 6 days in both counties. Despite aggressive efforts by health department staff members to perform case investigations and contact tracing, many persons with COVID-19 did not report contacts, and many contacts were not reached. These findings indicate that improved timeliness of contact tracing, community engagement, and increased use of community-wide mitigation are needed to interrupt SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

Source: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6938e3.htm?s_cid=mm6938e3_x