Tracers in Louisiana were able to reach 66 percent of identified cases from May 15 to Sept. 24, Alyson Neel, a spokeswoman for the state’s health department, said in an email. In the District of Columbia, calls appear as “DC COVID 19 Team,” the district’s health department said in a statement. But even with a clear caller ID, some Washingtonians were skittish, prompting the department to visit them in person. And in Florida, cautious people might not be to blame: Some phone calls from contact tracers this summer were flagged by phone companies as spam, The Sun Sentinel reported. In Louisiana, more than 26,000 of the people contact tracers spoke with between May 15 and Sept. 24 provided them with leads to 39,390 people whom they could have infected.

Source: New York Times September 29, 2020 14:34 UTC