24 Nov 2021

The future of contact tracing

From Nine To Noon, 9:05 am on 24 November 2021
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Photo: RNZ

What is the future for contact tracing as the delta outbreak continues its spread around the country?  As of Monday there were nearly six and a half thousand active contacts being managed in conjunction with just over four and a half thousand active cases. 

Of those contact, though, only 69 per cent had received a call from contact tracers - either to confirm testing or isolation requirements.

There are three weeks to go til the Auckand border is opened, and health officials say the worst case scenario is 16 thousand COVID cases per week during January.

So how can a contact tracing system which appears unable to keep up with the current number of cases, manage with a surge over summer?

Kathryn speaks with Professor Philip Hill, a public health expert at the University of Otago.