What You Need to Know About Contact Tracing

As your local health department, part of our role is to help stop the spread of diseases that can impact your family. Today, that includes COVID-19. You may have heard about contact tracing recently in the news or on social media, but we wanted to make sure you had the facts. Below you’ll discover what you can expect and how you can play a vital part in stopping the spread of the Coronavirus.

What is Contact Tracing?

• Public Health workers reach out to individuals who have COVID-19 to assess their situation, provide helpful resources, and ask about any recent in-person contacts who may have been exposed to the disease. Instructions are provided about how to stop spreading the disease and what to do until they recover.
• Recent in-person contacts are notified that they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and are offered instructions and connected to local resources.
• Individuals receive follow-up calls to see how they are doing and gather any new information.
• By following the instructions provided by Public Health workers, contacts help stop the spread of COVID-19 and save the lives of Kentuckians.

This is part of an existing process used by the Kentucky Department for Public Health. The purpose of Contact Tracing is to reduce health risks to others and protect communities from any further exposure. Resources are provided to help both individuals who have COVID-19, as well as individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19. All information gathered by Public Health workers is private and is not released or made public.