What is Contact Tracing?
Answer the call from the CA COVID Team and help slow the spread of COVID-19.
Contact tracing is completely private! You will not be asked for your social security number or your immigration status.
The contact tracing team will talk to those who have tested positive for COVID-19. They’ll alert close contacts and keep names confidential. A close contact is someone who has been within 6 feet of a person who is positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes. They’ll check symptoms, offer testing, and discuss next steps like isolation and quarantine.
- Contact Tracing Infographic: English | Chinese (Simplified) | Chinese (Traditional) | Farsi | Korean | Spanish | Tagalog | Vietnamese
- Contact Tracing FAQ
Step 1
The Public Health Department and its community partners will contact people who test positive for COVID-19.Step 2
We "trace" or find others who have been in recent close contact with them.Step 3
Contacts will be assessed and offered testing but they will NOT be told your name.Step 4
Contacts are asked to quarantine themselves even if they are not showing symptoms. Step 5
If they are showing symptoms or have already tested positive they are asked to isolate themselves to prevent the spread of COVID to others.
The contact tracing team includes a Team Clinician, Team Lead, and Contact Tracing Staff. This team of public health professionals and community partners work together to connect individuals to appropriate support and medical services as needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The goal of a contact tracing interview is to provide instructions on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and resources to support isolation and quarantine, like housing and food.
Contact tracers receive training on the privacy of protected information that emphasizes privacy and confidentiality of personal health information. Contact tracers also sign a confidentiality agreement. The information gathered will only be shared with Public Health officials, and cannot be shared with law enforcement, immigration, or for business purposes.
Contact tracers will make 3 calls across two days in a good faith attempt to reach a contact. When unable to reach a contact by phone, contact tracers will leave a voicemail with their name and phone number for a callback. If a contact’s email address is on file, then Isolation and Quarantine Order and Instructions are emailed. Orders may also be mailed if there is an address on file.
Testing is available through medical providers or an Alameda County testing site. If a contact tests positive for COVID-19, they will also receive a more in-depth case interview to discuss symptoms and identify their close contacts.
If you have been within 6 feet of a person who is positive for COVID-19 for at least 15 minutes, please contact your medical provider to ask about COVID-19 testing or visit any of the community testing sites. Quarantine yourself (stay at home) to prevent spreading COVID-19 to your friends, family and neighbors. Alameda County Public Health Department will only reach out to people who tested positive for COVID-19 and others who are identified as close contacts during the in-depth case interview.