Contact tracing has been used for decades by state and local health departments to slow or stop the spread of infectious diseases.
Contact tracing slows the spread of COVID-19 by:
Letting people know they may have been exposed to COVID-19 and should monitor their health for signs and symptoms of COVID-19.
Helping people who may have been exposed to COVID-19 get tested.
Asking people to self-isolate if they have COVID-19 or self-quarantine if they are a close contact of someone with COVID-19.
During contact tracing, the health department will ask for your demographic information, symptom onset and improvement dates, close contacts, and medical background. Discussions with health department staff are confidential. This means that your personal and medical information will be kept private and only shared with those who may need to know, like your health care provider.
If you have been diagnosed with COVID-19, your name will not be shared with those you came in contact with. The health department will only notify people you were in close contact with that they might have been exposed to COVID-19.