The first six weeks of New York City's contact-tracing initiative meant to help contain COVID-19 has been filled with confusion and disorganization, spurring some employees to question whether their work is making a difference, reports The New York Times.
The Times spoke with several current and former contact tracers who said the program had a confusing training process and unclear priorities. Some workers said newly hired supervisors were not able to provide adequate guidance to tracers, while others cited computer issues that caused patient records to go missing.
"I don't think this is the type of job we should just 'wing it,' and that's the sense I've been getting sometimes," one worker wrote in a message to other tracers on the business communication platform Slack. The Times obtained screenshots of the conversations.
Another contact tracer said, "The lack of communication and organization is crazy," according to the publication.
New York City's Test and Trace Corps program includes about 3,000 contact tracers and case monitors, among other workers. Mayor Bill de Blasio's administration said it's made significant improvements to the contact-tracing program since its June 1 launch.
"All signs indicate that the program has been effective in helping the city avoid the resurgence we’re seeing in other states," Avery Cohen, a spokeswoman for the mayor, told the Times.
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