9-21-21 contact tracing difficulties

Health investigators across the country are finding it nearly impossible to keep up with the deluge of new COVID-19 infections and carry out contact tracing efforts that were once seen as a pillar of the nation’s pandemic response.    States are hiring new staff and seeking volunteers to bolster the ranks of contact tracers that have been completely overwhelmed in some cases by surging coronavirus cases.  Fond du Lac County Public Health Officer Kim Mueller says it’s been a difficult task locally.  Some health departments have triaged their teams to focus on the most vulnerable, such as cases involving schools.  With the new school year underway, Mueller says that’s what her contact tracers are focusing on.