Contact tracing continues to be a key tool for controlling the spread of COVID-19, Kauai District Health Officer Dr. Janet Berreman said in a Zoom call with reporters Friday afternoon.
“It’s also, like all of our tools, it’s not a panacea,” she said. “It by itself won’t help us.”
Jason Dela Cruz, acting district health officer for Hawaii County, said in the same call that the contact tracing team on Hawaii Island is at a critical juncture because of the record spike in cases over the past week.
The team is trying to reach out to every single case, he said, but until those individuals are contacted by the contact tracing team, they should continue with preventative measures — isolating in place, reducing contact with household members, and notifying other contacts of their status.
“We are relying on individuals to help broadcast that as quickly as possible once they are even awaiting that diagnosis from a test site,” Dela Cruz said. “This is one way the community can help us in those early notification efforts.”
Statewide there were 269 contact tracers on the job Friday, down by about 30 from earlier in the week largely because of scheduled vacations.
There are 24 contact tracers on the Big Island, but Dela Cruz said the team can expand.
DOH spokesman Brooks Baehr said the state is trying to “ramp up” its efforts with additional contact tracers as the Dela variant spreads.
“But no matter how many we add, I don’t think it’s going to be enough to reach every close contact and that’s why everyone needs to share in this responsibility.”
Berreman implored people who are sick and feeling unwell to not go to work, school or socialize, and to get tested for COVID-19.
“I’ve heard people say, ‘well there are things going around,’” she said. “Yes. The thing that is going around in our community is COVID and it’s the Delta variant and it’s very highly transmissible.”
Email Stephanie Salmons at ssalmons@hawaiitribune-herald.com.