IMPROVEMENT IN CASE CONTACT TRACING PROCEDURES

 Filenews 23 October 2020

The way contacts of confirmed cases of coronavirus are detected is changing, according to the Ministry of Health's announcement. In particular, the tracing team due to increased in the light of the increased cases of COVID-19 recorded daily, but also in an effort to improve the procedures for informing people who are positively identified in the virus, as well as their close contacts, has made changes to the procedures.

The aim of updating procedures is to minimise the time required to inform both cases and their contacts, as there is a large increase in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and their close contacts.

In particular, as regards the updating of virus-positive individuals, the procedure has been modified and, if they do not have time to be notified by telephone by the end of the day, they are informed by text message that the result of their laboratory examination is positive. In addition to the result, the text message also provides a link to the written instructions to be followed by a virus-positive person. Upon receipt of the message, the person should be placed under house arrest and begin recording the persons with whom he or she had close contact 48 hours before the onset of symptoms or before the day of sampling, in the case of an asymptomatic patient.

Then, and within 24 hours, the Tracing Team communicates by phone with the person and records the data, and a form is sent by e-mail to register close contacts from the confirmed incidents. The virus positive person himself must also contact his or her close contacts by informing them that their data have been declared for tracing and indicating that they must remain in self-contained condition until the Epidemiological Surveillance Unit has contacted them to arrange an appointment for sampling.

With regard to communication with persons defined as close contacts, the first information is given by the case itself. Immediately, they should remain self-contained and expect telephone communication within 72 hours from the Ministry's Services to arrange an appointment for sampling. At the same time and in addition to the information made by the incident itself, people who are registered as close contacts receive a text message (sms) with the link for the written instructions to follow.

It should be noted that in cases of virus-positive individuals and close contacts, the information by text message is considered official and the person must follow the instructions given to him faithfully.

In the event that any person who has been informed that they are in contact with a case has or has experienced symptoms before the Tracing Team contacts them, they must inform their Personal Physician of the symptoms, necessarily declaring that they are close contact of a confirmed COVID-19 incident.

Source: eyenews