Ohio health officials hiring coronavirus 'contact tracers' to help stop spread of COVID-19
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Heads up, Ohioans: If you’re in need of a job, the state Department of Health may have one for you.
The Ohio Department of Health on Wednesday announced its need for “disease detectives” — or contact tracers — to help stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The contract tracers “will gather critical information from Ohio residents diagnosed with COVID-19 by identifying their contacts and calling every contact who lives in Ohio,” officials said.
Could you be a "disease detective?" (iStock)
Other responsibilities may include:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}- Call contacts of newly diagnosed cases
- Communicate with contacts in a professional and empathetic manner
- Collect and record information on symptoms into a database
- Provide contacts with approved information about Ohio quarantine procedures, and if appropriate, refer them to testing according to protocol
- Follow a script to inform contacts about the importance of quarantine and what to do if symptoms develop
- Use a telephone, computer and electronic equipment to capture data
- Maintain daily contact with supervisor
The part-time job’s duration could range between 12 and 18 months, officials said, noting it will be mostly remote, but “there may be a need to travel occasionally to conduct in-person interviews.”
The gig pays $18.59 an hour, according to health officials.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on its website says contact tracing is a “core disease control measure employed by local and state health department personnel for decades” and noted it is a “key strategy” in stopping the spread of COVID-19.
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“Immediate action is needed. Communities must scale up and train a large contact tracer workforce and work collaboratively across public and private agencies to stop the transmission of COVID-19,” the federal agency said.
To learn more about contact tracing, click here. You can apply for the job with the Ohio Department of Health here.