The state is planning to take a new approach to contact tracing to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Deputy Secretary Julie Willems Van Dijk of the Department of Health Services says it might take a few days for people to get their test results back.
She says they plan to get information from everyone that takes a test, and make sure they isolate themselves. She prefers that strategy, to possibly waiting for a few days for the results to come in.
Van Dijk says then they’d reach out to close contacts, She believes contact tracers might need to interview about 50,000 people every week, depending on the number of positive cases.
She says the state is willing to help local public health departments with that work.
