COVID-19 fall surge highlights need for contact tracing, experts say

Even though overwhelmed Toronto Public Health officials suspended contact tracing of COVID-19 cases earlier this month, outside of outbreaks in congregate settings, medical experts continue to state it is a crucial weapon in the fight against the coronavirus.

There have been more than 2,500 new cases for nearly two weeks straight in Canada, a fall surge that continues to surpass the first wave of this pandemic.

The biggest problem spots are Ontario and Quebec, but now the situation is deteriorating in other spots that had the virus under control.

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In Manitoba, cases have more than doubled, and then doubled again over the past month.

Alberta and Saskatchewan also seeing a troubling trend with the COVID-19 curve jumping.

It’s again throwing the spotlight on contact tracing, something that experts say can be effective enough to prevent lockdowns.

Experts say this is a virus feeding off complacency, and that comprehensive contact tracing is the key to controlling this.

In a study published in The Lancet medical journal, Dutch researchers found contact tracing has the potential to control virus transmission and lessen the need for lockdowns.

Ontario is now hiring hundreds more of contact tracers just to keep up with the backlog in testing.

In hotspots, such as Toronto, contact tracers are now only calling confirmed cases and then putting it on them to notify close contacts to self isolate, while Ottawa is doing something similar.