Starting February 1, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment will stop its contact tracing operations for COVID patients.
Employees had been getting ahold of people who may have come into contact with a COVID positive person, and letting them know about symptoms to watch out for. Staff who had been doing this will be moved to help with other efforts. The state says the decision to end contract tracing was made because of rising cases, and less people being willing to participate in contact tracing, which required people to share some personal information.
“As we enter the third year of this pandemic, public health has to begin to adjust the level of response to help alleviate the strain on the Public Health system,” Janet Stanek, Acting Secretary, said. “The pandemic is far from over, but this step is a move toward managing COVID-19 as an endemic disease. The responsibility of protecting yourself and others belongs to all of us.”
Going forward, it will be up to individuals to let people or venues know about potential exposure. In the event of an exposure at a large venue, it will be up to management to notify potential close contacts.
