As students return to school, Black Hawk County will hire additional contact tracers to help in case the number of virus cases surges again. | Wikimedia Commons
As students return to school, Black Hawk County will hire additional contact tracers to help in case the number of virus cases surges again. | Wikimedia Commons
As children come back together in classrooms in this age of pandemic, questions arise about what will happen if and when a student contracts COVID-19.
Contact tracing is not a new practice for local county health officials.
"Public health has been doing this so it's not because of COVID. So this is what we do, even for other infectious diseases," Black Hawk County Public Health Director Dr. Nafissa Cisse Egbuonye told KWWL.
Coronavirus cases surged in Black Hawk County this spring, putting a strain on the local health department. Egbuonye said when they were overwhelmed, they handed the responsibility of contact tracing back to the state. But with school starting, she said the county hopes to be proactive.
"We are definitely going to be recruiting for contact tracers," Egbuonye said. "We're going to have liaisons for the different sectors so that they know who exactly is going to be that point person."
There are designated staff in the school system to perform contact tracing Dr. Jane Lindaman, Waterloo Community Schools superintendent, told KWWL. The school district is collaborating with the public health department on the best ways to keep students safe.
The county will be hiring local contact tracers. The only requirement for the position is a high school diploma or GED.
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