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Let’s talk a bit about contact tracing.
On Tuesday, our daughter’s school notified parents that the Arkansas Department of Health had advised them to do their own contact tracing due to a “backlog” of cases. (A school employee had tested positive for Covid-19.)
(1/15) https://twitter.com/gregleding/status/1275517111197208577
On Tuesday, our daughter’s school notified parents that the Arkansas Department of Health had advised them to do their own contact tracing due to a “backlog” of cases. (A school employee had tested positive for Covid-19.)
(1/15) https://twitter.com/gregleding/status/1275517111197208577
This was understandably concerning—companies and other organizations shouldn’t be made to do their own contact tracing—but what I’m told happened is this:
ADH told the school to provide a list of people the employee had come in contact with, then submit that list to ADH.
(2/15)
ADH told the school to provide a list of people the employee had come in contact with, then submit that list to ADH.
(2/15)
I’m told this is standard practice: ADH staff does the tracing, but the agency often asks employers to provide a list of people who’ve come in contact with employees who’ve tested positive.
This didn’t explain the “backlog” comment made by the ADH emoloyee, though.
(3/15)
This didn’t explain the “backlog” comment made by the ADH emoloyee, though.
(3/15)
Ozarks at Large ( @OzarksatLarge) asked ADH about a backlog in response to my tweet, and ADH replied on Tuesday that it had no backlog.
This was almost certainly not true.
(Support @KUAF and other @NPR stations, by the way.)
(4/15)
This was almost certainly not true.
(Support @KUAF and other @NPR stations, by the way.)
(4/15)
How do we know it‘s almost certainly not true that ADH didn’t have a backlog of Covid-19 cases waiting for contact tracing? Because Secretary Smith admitted as much at today’s press conference:
“As of this morning, we do not have a backlog on contact tracing.”
(5/15)
“As of this morning, we do not have a backlog on contact tracing.”
(5/15)
And maybe you’re thinking, OK, what’s the big deal? ADH could’ve had no backlog yesterday and still not have had a backlog as of this morning—
—except there’s just no way.
Again, Secretary Smith told us as much today.
(6/15)
—except there’s just no way.
Again, Secretary Smith told us as much today.
(6/15)
At today’s press conference, Secretary Smith noted that “we’re trying to do contact tracing with much fewer staff than are needed,” adding that the agency’s request for an additional 350 contact tracers—which it made back in mid-May—was based on 1,000 active cases. (7/15)
Stick with me here.
We have somewhere around 200 to 250 contact tracers right now. On May 13—42 days ago—we had 862 known active cases. That day, Secretary Smith said the state had a goal of adding 350 additional contact tracers.
(8/15)
We have somewhere around 200 to 250 contact tracers right now. On May 13—42 days ago—we had 862 known active cases. That day, Secretary Smith said the state had a goal of adding 350 additional contact tracers.
(8/15)
Today, Secretary Smith said that the mid-May ask for 350 more contact tracers was made on an assumption of 1,000 active cases—at a point when we already had 862 active cases.
Forty-two days (and another 4,705 active cases) later, we still haven’t added those first 350.
(9/15)
Forty-two days (and another 4,705 active cases) later, we still haven’t added those first 350.
(9/15)
As recently as June 19—last Friday—Secretary Smith said our state hoped to add just another 350 contact tracers, despite saying just today that the initial ask for 350 more was based on an assumption of 1,000 known active cases.
We were at 4,705 active cases that day.
(10/15)
We were at 4,705 active cases that day.
(10/15)
Today, Governor Hutchinson announced that our state hopes to add another 350 contact tracers to the 350 it still hopes to add sometime in July.
We’ve been saying we hope to add contact tracers since at least mid-May.
Meanwhile, active cases have increased sixfold.
(11/15)
We’ve been saying we hope to add contact tracers since at least mid-May.
Meanwhile, active cases have increased sixfold.
(11/15)
So, knowing all of that, and knowing that Secretary Smith himself said today that “we’re trying to do contact tracing with much fewer staff than are needed,” we can say with near certainty that we are way, way, behind in tracing active cases of Covid-19. (12/15)
And remember, we’ve added 3,769 new cases in just the last seven days. Secretary Smith has said we didn’t have enough contact tracers back in mid-May, when we had just 862 known active cases.
We don’t have nearly enough personnel.
We’re way behind.
(13/15)
We don’t have nearly enough personnel.
We’re way behind.
(13/15)
Also remember that on June 12, Governor Hutchinson said that companies like Walmart, Simmons Foods, and Tyson are doing their own contact tracing. We’ve heard rumors for weeks that ADH tracers have been told not to work these cases. (14/15)
So we know we don’t have anywhere close to the number of contact tracers we need; we know it could be weeks before we add more; and we can be sure that our current team is overworked and exhausted.
Cases are increasing rapidly, and we can’t trace them quickly.
(15/15)
Cases are increasing rapidly, and we can’t trace them quickly.
(15/15)
