County health officials call on coronavirus patients to share info with contact tracers

Kim Saruwatari explains contact tracing from RUHS Public Health on Vimeo.

Riverside County health officials are putting the word out and asking people who have tested positive for coronavirus to provide critically needed information when they are contacted by contact tracers.

Kim Saruwatari, director of Riverside County Public Health, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that contact tracers have been having issues getting information from residents.

Contact tracers are used to determine who the patient may have been in contact with, and where the patient may have visited. This information is vital to help slow the spread of coronavirus.

"Unfortunately, in many cases, the person who is contacted is not providing the information that is being sought," Saruwatari said. "This information is critical as we work to slow and eventually stop the spread of coronavirus. It is understandable that patients may be reluctant to discuss sensitive issues, but it is very important that this information is provided."

The infected person is not identified, the information remains anonymous, according to Saruwatari. She says the information is not shared with other governmental agencies or with those who are contacted by case investigators.

Contact tracing has been a common practice for a couple decades now. It's been used to investigate other health issues like tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases.

"We don’t share individual information and we don’t ding people for being honest," said Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County public health officer. "The only thing new about what we’re doing now is the scale of it. We know how to keep your information private and we ask only what we need to know. But we also need to understand where our hotspots are so we can concentrate on those regions and sectors, and that can’t happen if we don’t find out what we need to."

Health officials encourage all county resident to continue to take the vital steps to slow the spread of coronavirus, like wearing a face covering, maintaining social distancing and frequent hand washing.

According to health officials, taking these steps can reduce the spread by up to 95 percent.

"The deadly pandemic caught us all by surprise. But we are resilient and we will overcome," said Board Chair V. Manuel Perez, Fourth District Supervisor. "In order for our county to thrive we ask you to join us in this war against coronavirus and agree to work with our contact tracers if you are called. Together we will beat this pandemic."

You can stay up-to-date with the latest local coronavirus update at KESQ.com/Coronavirus.

Symptoms

• Fever
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Chills
• Repeated shaking with chills
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Sore throat
• New loss of taste or smell

You can call the Centers for Disease Control with any questions at 211 and 800–CDC –INFO (800 – 232 – 4636).

If you want to be seen at Eisenhower Health, call their 24-hour coronavirus hotline first at 760-837-8988 or 760-TEST988. Avoid the spread of this illness.

These symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus, according to the CDC.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.

How to get tested

You can get tested even if you do not have symptoms.  There are testing site all over the valley and county.

Click here to find the closest testing site to you

If you want to get tested at one of the other five Riverside County testing sites, you will need to call 800-945-6171 to set up an appointment.

You can also make an appointment online at www.rivcoph.org/coronavirus/testing.