State DOH increases staff to help with contact tracing

The state Department of Health has added staff in order to keep up with contact tracing for COVID-19 cases, especially with the start of schools and universities in the past few weeks.

State Health Department Secretary Kim Malsam-Rysdon said in a media briefing Thursday that even with the extra staff, they still need the public’s help.

The Department of Health now has 243 contact tracers.  Malsam-Rysdon said they work with the school districts when a positive case is identified within the district.

The state reported earlier this week that there were 452 COVID-19 cases in students and staff in the state’s private and public schools.  This information is updated weekly on the state Department of Health’s COVID-19 website.