Is a contact tracer calling? Pick up the phone and cooperate. Here’s how it works.
With North Carolina seeing consecutive one-day increases in coronavirus cases, Gov. Roy Cooper and Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen are urging people to comply with safety protocols, such as wearing a face mask and avoiding large gatherings.
Cohen also indicated during Thursday’s news briefing that many people are not responding to calls from health department contact tracers. Contact tracing is an important tool in helping slow the spread of the coronavirus.
“We are hearing numerous reports from our health departments of people refusing to share information and contacts of people they may have exposed to this virus,” Cohen said.
“We really want folks to be picking up the phone and talking to our folks at the local health department. We want to understand who else may have been exposed to the virus. We can get in touch with them, and that way we can help them go access a test, make sure they’re staying quarantined or isolated. So it’s really important to work with your local health department.
“Pick up the phone when they are calling so we can all work together on this.”
Cohen said about half of the people contacted are not responding to calls.
How does contact tracing work in North Carolina?
Here’s how the contact tracing process works, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
If you have been around someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, a contact tracer will reach out to you to let you know and to ask you some questions.
You will be contacted either by:
▪ Phone
▪ Text message
Contact by phone: In the case of a phone call, NC DHHS says your phone display will either read the phone number for the local health department, or the words NC OUTREACH.
Contact by text: A legitimate text from NC’s COVID-19 Community Team will come from the number 45394.
Contact by email: Emails will come from the email address NC-ARIAS-NoReply@dhhs.nc.gov.
Because of the possibility of scammers, the NC Attorney General’s Office advises that if you feel something isn’t right about someone saying they are a contact tracer, hang up and call your local health department directly to see whether the call is legitimate.
If you don’t answer, a contact tracer will leave a message
If a North Carolina contact tracer cannot reach you by phone, they will leave a message identifying themselves with their first name and with the county health department from which they are calling.
According to NCDHHS, the tracer will say: “We are contacting you about an urgent public health matter. We would like to speak with you to provide further information and share guidance.”
They will ask you to call them back through the local health department, and they will provide a number.
If you missed a call from a contact tracer, should you call back?
If you miss a call from a contact tracer, you should call them back at the number they provide.
If you’re suspicious of the call, independently look up the number of your local county health department and call them to see if they called.
There is a list of all of North Carolina’s county health departments and their phone numbers at ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/county-health-departments.
What will an NC contact tracer ask you?
▪ The tracer will ask you how you are feeling, and offer information on how to get tested and how to help slow the spread of the virus.
▪ The tracer will ask you where you have been and ask you to identify other people you have been in contact with. They will not share your name with anyone they call, and they will not share any names with you.
▪ NC DHHS emphasizes that any information shared during a call with a contact tracer is a private health record and is strictly confidential.
▪ A legitimate contact tracer will never ask for your Social Security number or for credit card or banking numbers. If someone on a call asks you for any of this information, hang up and call your local health department to report the incident. You should also report the incident to the NC Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at ncdoj.gov/file-a-complaint or 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 2:11 PM.
