Alexandria Health Department: Steps for COVID-19 Contact Tracing
DO YOUR PART, ANSWER THE CALL!
Case investigation and contact tracing only work when people like you participate. You can help stop the spread of COVID-19 in our community by answering calls from the Health Department or by calling back after receiving a voicemail. Your neighbors and loved ones are counting on you.
Learn more about the process that may result in a call to you.
1 Labs & Health Care Providers Report COVID-19 Cases to the Health Department
Labs and healthcare providers report COVID-19 “cases” to the Alexandria Health Department (AHD). After getting these reports, AHD starts their “Case Investigation” and “Contact Tracing.”
2 Interview Case
AHD contacts the person with COVID-19 and asks about:
- Symptoms and when they started
- People who have been within 6 feet for 15 minutes or more, starting from 48 hours before symptoms started--these people are the case’s close contacts
- Health conditions that may make them more likely to get very sick
- Living conditions that make them more likely to expose others like crowded housing
- Basic needs such as food or cleaning supplies that someone may need while staying home
3 Advise Case
AHD asks the person to:
- Avoid close contact with others (isolation period) until they are not contagious
- Follow guidelines for household cleaning and personal hygiene (e.g., hand washing)
- Monitor their COVID-19 symptoms
- Treat minor symptoms with over the counter medications
- Seek help from a healthcare provider if symptoms get worse (and call ahead first!)
- Wear a mask if it is necessary to leave home
4 Interview Close Contacts
Next, AHD reaches out to the case’s close contacts. The close contact is told (while keeping the case’s information confidential) that they have been exposed to a person with COVID-19. AHD works with the person to assess their risk of getting sick. Risk is based on:
- Time and closeness of the contact with the case
- Type of contact, such as physical contact or body fluid exchange
- Any additional factors like the contact’s occupation
5 Advise Close Contacts to Case
AHD asks the close contact to:
- Stay at home for at least 14 days from the last date they were in close contact with the case (quarantine period)
- Follow guidelines for household cleaning and personal hygiene such as hand washing
- Monitor their COVID-19 symptoms
- Treat minor symptoms with over the counter medications
- Seek help from a healthcare provider if symptoms get worse (and call ahead first!)
- Wear a mask if it is necessary to leave home
6 Monitor Cases and Close Contacts at Higher Risk
AHD regularly contacts cases and close contacts at higher risk of getting sick. AHD will:
- Ask if symptoms have gotten better, worse, or stopped
- Identify problems they may have while isolated or in quarantine
- Offer City resources to support them
- Assess their readiness to be released from quarantine or isolation
7 Release from Restrictions
Release from isolation or quarantine is based on length of time, when symptoms end, and other factors. Note: AHD does not provide “return to work/school notes”