California public health officials and hospitals are preparing to train what Gov. Gavin Newsom called an "army" of 10,000 "contact tracers," he announced at a press conference on Wednesday. They will play a vital role after the state is reopened in identifying, and following, any future coronavirus outbreaks.
That's a major lift, albeit one health officials say is necessary. On April 10 — a mere two weeks ago — the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials sent a letter to Congress saying there are 2,200 contact tracers across the entire U.S.
After an individual tests positive for COVID-19, contact tracers perform the labor-intensive work of calling all of the person’s friends, co-workers, relatives or even servers they may have interacted with at a restaurant to see if they are sick and recommend testing.
Public health officials say a larger, trained network of contact tracers will be absolutely vital after the statewide stay-at-home order is lifted. Without a vaccine or reliable therapy, officials say, the risk of a "second wave" of coronavirus infections remains a grave threat.
--Kevin Stark (@starkkev)