Contact Tracing Going By The Wayside

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment has announced that as of next month, COVID-19 contact tracing operations will be discontinued at KDHE.

County Health Departments have already begun to wind down contact tracing, and K-12 schools may temporarily suspend contact tracing as well.

Contact tracing is when Public Health notifies close contacts to let them know that they were exposed to an infectious disease, and tells them about the signs and symptoms to watch out for.

The decision to end the program was made due to the surge in amount of positive COVID-19 cases, and because the public’s willingness to participate has diminished since the beginning of the pandemic.

Individuals who are positive for COVID-19 will now be responsible for letting their close contacts know about their potential exposure.