COVID-19 Update: Contact Tracing
Contact tracing is one of our most-powerful tools to protect our staff, affiliates, and on-site contractors from catching and spreading COVID-19, but what is contact tracing and how does it keep you safe?
Contact tracing is a well-established method used by public health professionals to identify anyone exposed to a virus and intervene with the goal of preventing them from unknowingly spreading it to others. The Smithsonian Occupational Health Services (OHS) team uses contact tracing to slow the spread of contagious illness within the Smithsonian and surrounding community. Their team includes doctors, nurses, and a physician assistant who interview and investigate the possible transmission of COVID-19.
Contact tracing begins as soon as the COVID-19 Response Team is alerted that someone on site has tested positive or been diagnosed by their doctor with the virus. If you have been diagnosed or tested positive with COVID-19, report your positive case to the COVID-19 Response Team at si-coronavirusinfo@si.edu, and OHS will respond to you within one day. The inbox is actively monitored, including after hours, and the team moves quickly. For more information on what to do if you test positive, visit this website.
Throughout the contact tracing process, the COVID-19 positive staff member is referred to as “the case.” OHS first calls the case and asks them about their health and wellbeing, their illness, and the last time they were on site. From this information, the team determines if a targeted cleaning is required, and if so, they alert OFMR.
They also determine if there are any potential “primary contacts.” A primary contact is typically considered to be anyone who spent at least 15 minutes with the case without taking the required safety precautions of staying a minimum of six feet apart and wearing face coverings properly. OHS will need to know detailed information about who the case interacted with, for how long, how far away they kept, what the room was like, and if they were properly wearing face coverings.
After OHS collects information from the case, they call the primary contacts to confirm their exposure. OHS answers any questions, advises on next steps, and explains voluntary quarantine requirements. Smithsonian’s policy states that any primary contact must remain home from work in a voluntary quarantine status for 14 days following their last contact with a COVID-19 positive colleague.
Finally, building and unit leadership are notified that a case was reported at their facility. The Smithsonian takes medical privacy extremely seriously and does not report individuals’ names. During contact investigations, OHS only reaches out to individuals who are directly involved with the case and protects the identity of the case when speaking with close contacts. We must all ensure that the names of cases and primary contacts remain protected and confidential.
If you are not contacted by OHS, you were not considered a potential primary contact and were deemed not to be at increased risk of contracting the virus. Not being contacted is truly is a case of “no news is good news.”
Contact tracing works. When a colleague reports their illness, OHS can find and notify the primary contacts right away. Those contacts are able stay home until the risk of becoming ill and the potential for asymptomatic spread has passed. This stops the chain of virus transmission in the workplace and protects our community.
Your help is a critical piece of our COVID-19 response. Follow any guidelines that your unit has established to aid contact tracing, such as maintaining a list of your daily interactions, scheduling your time in the workplace in advance, keeping your contact information up to date, and answering if OHS reaches out.
Protect yourself and the people you interact from becoming primary contacts by staying home when sick, wearing your face covering properly, limiting face-to-face interactions, and standing six feet apart when socializing. We are all in this together, and we each have a part to play. Thank you for keeping our community safe.
Stay safe and be well,
COVID-19 Response Team
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Posted: 22 October 2020
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