Does contact tracing still work against new variants of the covid 19 virus?
Contact tracing is known as the process people who have been exposed to covid 19 virus-infected people are identified, assessed, and managed. This process is done to cut the process of transmitting the virus to other people. This process is used to help identify a patient faster before they can get severe symptoms by getting them to quarantine early and get treatment or medical care before it gets out of hand.
Contact tracing is essential and is used by all health facilities, worldwide to track all infectious diseases. It breaks the chain of transmission where the affected people are isolated from the public and taken to quarantine where they get the best clinical care.
With the new covid 19 variant the same process does apply and is quite effective. This is because the virus is transmitted by the interaction of an infected person with people, no matter what the variant is. (Park at el 2020)
Close Up Of Mobile Phone With Covid-19 Track And Trace Alert
If a person thinks they have been in contact with a covid 19 patient it advisable that they undertake quick quarantine measures and get safe. When this happens one should contact any health facility to ensure they have the information and should not panic. People are often told by the authorities that they were in close contact with a patient and they are needed to keep off crowded places. The other way to know if you are a contact person you may be informed by a person who was with you and has tested positive. (Park at el 2020)
No matter how one gets to be a contact person it is always advisable to get a covid 19 test and quarantine for at least two weeks while seeking proper medical care.Docsun Biomed Report on CDC Guidelines for Isolation and Quarantine – DOCSUN BioMed Ltd.
Reference
Park, Y. J., Choe, Y. J., Park, O., Park, S. Y., Kim, Y. M., Kim, J., … & Jeong, E. K. (2020). Contact tracing during coronavirus disease outbreak, South Korea, 2020. Emerging infectious diseases, 26(10), 2465.
