Testing, tracing key to lifting coronavirus restrictions, Pierce health director says
The head of Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department said there needs to be much more coronavirus testing done and more investigators hired to perform contact tracing before social distancing restrictions can be loosened.
“It’s like blood pressure. If you have high blood pressure and you are taking your medication and blood pressure looks great, that’s because you are taking your medication,” Dr. Anthony Chen told the Board of Health on Wednesday. “ If we ease up the social mitigation strategies, we are going to bounce back up.”
Chen said it’s unlikely that events, large gatherings and fundraisers planned for the summer months will be held. Chen echoed remarks state Secretary of Health John Wiesman made to reporters Tuesday. Wiesman said the life we knew before the coronavirus pandemic won’t return for many, many months.
When businesses open, there could be limited capacity to encourage social distancing, and customs like shaking hands and hugging will be frowned upon.
“The great news is that we’re seeing progress. The not-so-great news is we have to keep it up,” Chen said.
Testing
Looking at other countries around the world, Chen said, those who have been successful in flattening the curve have done a tremendous amount of testing. He pointed to South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore.
Washington is among other states waiting for more test kits to arrive. The New York Times reported that there is a supply shortage across the nation. Washington’s Department of Health reports that since March 20, the state has received 32,100 test kits. Most of the recent kits have been sent to Yakima and Kitsap counties.
State health officer, Dr. Kathy Lofy, said in a media briefing on Tuesday that Washington performs about 4,500 tests on weekdays and about 2,000 tests on weekends.
Chen said testing needs to be stepped up, which will mean the number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus will go up.
Contact tracing
As cases increase due to more testing, there will need to be more disease investigators tracking transmission. Contact tracing is important to backtrack movements of those who have become sick. Investigators contact those who have been around a person with COVID-19 to see who became sick and how often the virus was transmitted.
Chen said health officials have estimated the nation needs several thousand more disease investigators. He believes a few hundred more in Pierce County would help, but it’s difficult to find them.
“Even adding just a hundred is a daunting task,” Chen told the board.
The health department is looking at innovative solutions, like hiring call centers to help trace people in contact with those who have become sick. Chen cited cities and states like San Francisco and Massachusetts, where trained volunteers have increased contact-tracing efforts.
Even once there is ample testing and contract tracing, “normal” society will have to return slowly. Chen told the board that Pierce County’s 1,000 confirmed cases is about .1 percent of county’s population.
“That’s a lot of people we gotta get immune before we throw the doors open and have big public events,” he said. “Until a vaccine shows up, we’ve got to do this in a very controlled way.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 1:57 PM.
