04-17-2021, 06:07 PM
(04-17-2021, 02:53 PM)danbrotherston Wrote: What percentage of infections are even traced right now? I don't get the sense we are doing any of this tracing. We might identify an outbreak, but given asymptomatic people, large workplaces, etc. this isn't the kind of thing we'd even hear about.
Heck, how many people were sick at the Amazon warehouse before anyone heard anything about it.
My gut says workplace infections are a major driver, I'm sure it's not the ONLY driver, but if it was a third, that would still be one of three problems.
I don't want to get too specific, but this info is from someone I know that works in this area.
Public health used to call all positive tests, but definitely don't have the staffing to do that now. However, the automated system does text them and ask a few questions. If the answers to the questions suggest there might be a school or workplace outbreak, then that's top priority for the contact tracers to call them and investigate further. So I think our data on workplace outbreaks isn't as terrible as our low rate of contact tracing would suggest.
That said, one of the biggest factors they're seeing is what employees do off the clock. Good workplaces that enforce mask rules, avoid crowding people in a small area, etc, still come up against employees saying "well, we spend all day together at work, so I figured I might as well have my coworkers over for pizza". Except of course at work they're all masked, sanitizing theirs hands, etc but that all goes out the window at pizza night. Technically it still becomes a workplace outbreak, but the risk factor isn't the workplace.