Contact Tracing: Slowing the Spread

We all need to work together this year to slow the spread of COVID-19 on campus and in our community.  Please answer all calls and messages from Campus Health Services (CHS) and Coconino County Health and Human Services (CCHHS).

Answering the call from Campus Health Services or the County Health Department, helps protect you, your friends, your family and our community.

How Does Contact Tracing Help?

1. Lets people know when they have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and provides information about monitoring their health for symptoms
2. Helps people get connected to local COVID-19 testing resources if they have been exposed
3. Helps prevent people with the virus from spreading it to others by advising them to self-isolate
4. Helps prevent people who may have the virus from spreading it to others by advising them to self-quarantine and/or gest tested
5. Contact Tracing is NOT meant to get people in trouble and information shared in these conversations is confidential

Step One:  Case Investigation

• A public health professional from NAU’s Campus Health Services or Coconino County Health Services reaches out to those who test positive for COVID-19
• They may ask how the person feels, assess symptoms and provide resources to support them during their illness
• They will provide instructions for how long the person should self- isolate
• They will talk with the person about recent activities in order to identify close contacts. Information from close contacts will be used for Contact Tracing- NOT for getting people in trouble

Step Two:  Contact Tracing

• A public health professional communicates with people who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19
• Contacts will NOT be given the name of the person who tested positive
• They will provide instructions for how long the person should self-quarantine
• They might encourage the person to get a COVID-19 test
• They may provide additional resources to help the contact stay healthy during quarantine

Step Three:  Monitoring and Care Coordination

• People with COVID-19 who have been contacted by CHS or the health department may receive follow up communication
• The health professional may ask how the person is doing and ask about additional resources they may need or advise when quarantine or isolation has ended