Covid-19 changed all that, as her formerly little-understood role in contact tracing people who might have come into contact with someone infected with a contagious disease took on national importance. By March 16, eight staff were working on contact tracing, a number that increased three-fold in the following fortnight. On March 31, the workforce nearly doubled again, from 24 to 45, and by April 2 there were 72 people contact tracing. There are two different aspects to contact tracing work: establishing who a case’s close contacts are, and identifying possible places or events where a case might have been. All the contact tracing staff felt the anxiety of the public as the pandemic unfolded and felt under pressure to deliver, Ms Murphy said.

Source: Otago Daily Times February 26, 2021 15:33 UTC