KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Every day, dozens of people in the Kansas City, Missouri, area are receiving positive test results for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
41 Action News asked four area health departments about the steps which come after a positive test - specifically about notifying people who may have been exposed to that person with the positive test result.
We spoke with the health departments in Kansas City, Missouri; Clay County, Missouri; Johnson County, Kansas; and Wyandotte County, Kansas.
None of the departments we asked legally require the infected person to notify anyone; not their employer, not their family, not their friends. But all four do strongly recommend the infected person notify people in their circle.
Clay County said it hasn’t had anyone decline to notify close contacts.
The health departments do require the infected person to stay home.
Just about every health department will notify the person’s employer through a process called “contact tracing.”
After someone tests positive for the virus, they will receive a call from a contact tracer (what’s known as a COVID-19 disease investigator in Wyandotte County and a disease case investigator in Clay County). The person will ask them about who they’ve been in contact with over the previous few days. Those tracers then reach out to those people who could’ve been exposed to the person with the positive test result.
In Wyandotte County, COVID-19 disease investigators reach out to 10 people on average per case. In Johnson County, a spokesperson said tracers could reach out to as many as 100 people on a particular case.
Often those tracers are the ones notifying people they may have been exposed to COVID-19. So health departments do not require employers to notify their entire staff when one person contracts COVID-19. The contact tracers will deal individually with people in closest contact with the positive case.
Kansas City’s health department said if there is a cluster at a business, it works with the employer to notify all employees, educate employees, and reinforce proper precautions to prevent the spread.
“If there are multiple cases reported, we work directly with the employer to gain information on staff illnesses and make recommendations to mitigate transmission within the facility,” a Clay County Health Department spokesperson added.
All four departments are currently hiring or, in Wyandotte County’s case, plan to hire, contact tracers. For information on how to apply in each jurisdiction, click the links below.
