PHOENIX — Arizona reached several grim milestones on Saturday, reporting 8,076 new cases of COVID-19 and bringing the state to more than 400,000 known cases since the start of the pandemic.
Health experts maintain that contact tracing is a vital tool to slow the spread but Arizona has faced criticism with a lack or robust tracing.
Less than two weeks into December, Arizona hospitals are on the brink of disaster, 91% of ICU beds are full.
Dr. Joe Gerald at the University of Arizona concluded that "We have now all but locked in a major humanitarian crisis during the Christmas – New Year holiday with hundreds of preventable deaths per week."
In the last 10 days alone, epidemiologist Alexandra Shilen and her team of contact tracers have contacted more than 700 people in Pima County.
“Our job is to keep our community as healthy as possible and slow the spread, hopefully, stop the spread of COVID-19,” said Shilen.
Her team is made up of 330 paid and volunteer staff, many associated with the University of Arizona.
They work seven days a week and operate 100% remotely in a “virtual call center,” in connection with the Arizona Department of Public Health and the University of Arizona.
“I’ve definitely noticed that sometimes people are hesitant to share information with us because they’re afraid they did something wrong,” said Shilen.
A challenge for Shilen’s team is the stigma associated with the virus and getting people to pick up the phone or respond to an email when a tracer reaches out.
“A lot of people are getting really tired of social distancing and not seeing their friends and family which is totally understandable but now is the time to keep up with all measures and stay very vigilant.”
With the holidays less than two weeks away and new cases expected to overwhelm Arizona hospitals, Shilen says if contacted by a tracer, your response could be the ultimate gift.
“Now is such a critical in Arizona and country. We need to remain vigilant with all public health measures to slow the spread of the disease."
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