Contact Tracing FAQs

The federal government is providing free home test kits. Order yours here. You can find local testing sites for rapid and PCR tests here.

The COVID vaccine is free and offered at many locations. Find your free vaccination location here. The CDC now recommends COVID vaccines for all those 6 months and over. 

Contact tracing has been used for decades by health departments to slow or stop the spread of infectious diseases.

Contact tracing slows the spread of COVID-19 by:

• Letting people know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should monitor their health for signs and symptoms of COVID-19
• Helping people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 get tested
• Asking people to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 or self-quarantine if they are a close contact of someone with COVID-19

During contact tracing, we will not ask you for:

• Money
• Social Security number
• Bank account information
• Salary information
• Credit card numbers

Interviewers will ask for date of birth, address, race, and ethnicity data. We will never ask for or record immigration status, social security number or financial information.

The information is stored in secure databases. Contact tracers are carefully screened, HIPAA compliant and sign strict confidentiality agreements.

Discussions with health department staff are confidential. This means that your personal and medical information will be kept private and only shared with those who may need to know, like your health care provider.

If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, your name will not be shared with those you came in contact with. Each state and jurisdiction use their own method for collecting and protecting health information. To learn more, contact your state or local health department.

Interviewers ask about symptoms, recent exposure to COVID-19 and provide information to help prevent the spread of disease. They also provide resources if you have further questions.

No. Although each answer provides valuable information to stop the spread of COVID-19, no one is required to answer every question.

Close contacts are only told they may have been exposed to COVID-19.

For COVID-19, a close contact is anyone who was within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes. An infected person can spread COVID-19 starting 48 hours (or 2 days) before the person had any symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19.

Yes, you are still considered a close contact even if you were wearing a mask while you were around someone with COVID-19. Masks are meant to protect other people in case you are infected, and not to protect you from becoming infected.

If you have been around someone who is sick with COVID-19, we recommend that you get tested for COVID-19. You should get tested for COVID-19 as soon as you know that you have been around a person diagnosed with COVID-19. Contact tracers will be able to provide resources for testing in your area.

• While you are waiting for your COVID-19 test result, stay home away from others (self-quarantine) and monitor your health for symptoms of COVID-19 to protect your friends, family, and others from possibly getting COVID-19.
• If your test is positive, you should continue to stay home and self-isolate away from others and monitor your health. If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and they worsen or become severe, you should seek emergency medical care. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face. Someone from the health department may call you to
  • Check on your health,
  • Discuss who you have been around, and
  • Ask where you have spent time while you may have been able to spread COVID-19 to others.
• If your test is negative and you don’t have symptoms, follow the current CDC guidelines for quarantine.
• If your test is negative and you have symptoms you should continue to self-quarantine away from others and follow all recommendations from the health department. A second test and additional medical consultation may be needed if your symptoms do not improve.

If you are diagnosed with COVID-19, someone from the health department may call you to check on your health, discuss who you have been around, and ask where you spent time while you may have been able to spread COVID-19 to others. You will also be asked to continue to stay at home and self-isolate, away from others.

• Your name will not be shared with those you came in contact with.
• We will not ask you for
  • Money
  • Social Security number
  • Bank account information
  • Salary information, or
  • Credit card numbers
• Self-isolation means staying at home in a specific room away from other people, and using a separate bathroom, if possible.
• Self-isolation helps slow the spread of COVID-19 and can help protect the health of your family, friends, neighbors, and others you may come in contact.
• If you need support or assistance while in self-isolation, your health department or community organizations may be able to provide assistance.

Watch for or monitor your symptoms of COVID-19. If your symptoms worsen or become severe, you should seek medical care.

If you were around someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, someone from the health department may call you to let you know that you may have been exposed to COVID-19.

Health department staff can also provide resources for COVID-19 testing in your area. Follow the current CDC guidelines for quarantine.

• Self-quarantine means staying home away from others and monitoring your health.
• If you need to be around other people or animals in or outside of the home, wear a mask. This will help protect the people around you.
• If you need support or assistance while in self-quarantine, your health department or community organizations may be able to provide assistance.

Monitor your health and watch for symptoms of COVID-19. Remember, symptoms may appear 2-14 days after you were exposed to COVID-19. Tell us or the health department if you develop any symptoms. Tell people you were around recently if you become ill, so they can monitor their health. If your symptoms worsen or become severe, seek medical care. Severe symptoms include trouble breathing, persistent pain or pressure in the chest, new confusion, inability to wake or stay awake, or bluish lips or face.

We will not ask you for:

• Money
• Social Security number
• Bank account information
• Salary information, or
• Credit card numbers

Yes. You should still self-quarantine. Follow the current CDC guidelines for quarantine. 

People with COVID-19 can still spread the virus even if they don’t have any symptoms. If you were around someone who had COVID-19, it is critical that you quarantine. Staying home and away from others at all times helps your health department in the fight against COVID-19 and helps protect you, your family, and your community.

If you have been around someone who was identified as a close contact to a person with COVID-19, closely monitor yourself for any symptoms of COVID-19. You do not need to self-quarantine unless you develop symptoms or if the person identified as a close contact develops COVID-19.

Quarantine describes when someone who has been exposed to COVID-19 stays home and away from others for the recommended period of time in case they were infected and are contagious. Quarantine becomes isolation if the person later tests positive for COVID-19 or develops symptoms.

Follow the current CDC guidelines for quarantine from your last contact with a person who has COVID-19.

Isolation describes when someone who has COVID-19 symptoms, or has tested positive, stays home and away from others (including household members) to avoid spreading their illness.

If you have confirmed or suspected COVID-19 and have symptoms, you can end home isolation when:

• It’s been at least 24 hours with no fever without using fever-reducing medication AND
• Your symptoms have improved, AND
• Follow the current CDC guidelines for isolation.

If you test positive for COVID-19, but have not had any symptoms, you can end home isolation when:

• Follow the current CDC guidelines for isolation, AND
• You have had no subsequent illness.

Anyone who needs help to support staying at home will be connected with local public health to determine what services are available. 

Interviews are important because they help public health professionals:

• Determine close contacts for positive cases.
• Provide important information about how to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
• Understand how people are feeling to track the progression of the illness.
• Connect people with resources they may need while they isolate or quarantine themselves.

Anyone interviewed will receive information on COVID-19, including steps they should take to take to prevent the spread of disease and protect their loved ones and community. Interviewers will also verify that any person who has been asked to isolate or quarantine has the support they need, including:

• A safe place to stay away from other people, especially those at high risk of severe disease.
• The ability to get food and essential items without leaving the house.
• Any other assistance or help to safely stay away from other people.

If the answer is no, interviewers will connect them to local public health to determine available support services.