Contact tracing, businesses help slow COVID spread

Butler County Health Department officials say they want to acknowledge and celebrate all businesses and locations stepping up to help in the fight against COVID-19.

The health department released a second list Thursday of locations recently visited by a COVID positive person. The lists are expected to be released daily in the future.

The goal is to help give the community awareness of where an exposure may have occurred, said Emily Goodin, BCHD administrator.

“We want to praise these businesses,” said Goodin. “They’re taking the steps they need to, to keep the public safe and that’s awesome.”

Businesses and other locations, including churches and public buildings, are contacted about the movements of a COVID positive person prior to announcement on the daily list, Goodin said.

The location will go over an action plan with the health department based on what type of exposure may have occurred, for instance a customer or an employee. The plan will include details such as what cleaning is needed, if any. Some locations, such as Butler County Courthouse, have also opted to close temporarily in response to positive cases.

The health department will offer guidance on what steps are needed during the initial contact and also follows up with each business later to discuss how the plan was implemented, she said.

“Nobody should have any fear of going back to these businesses,” she said.

The list is posted to the health department’s website and will appear each day on the Daily American Republic’s record page, starting today.

The health department also offers additional information and guidance for businesses and individuals regarding COVID testing and safety.

The list of businesses is developed from contact tracing that is done with each Butler County resident that tests positive, said Goodin.

The individual provides a list of places they have been and a list of those with whom they have had close contact, said Kami Riddle, a registered nurse with the health department who oversees the effort.

“Separating people who have or may have it prevents that further transmission,” said Riddle.

No identifying information is given to a location when they are contacted about a recent visit from a COVID positive person, she said.

Locations are provided in cases where it might be difficult to name everyone present at the time of the possible exposure, officials said.

Close contact is defined by the CDC as someone who was within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes, starting from two days before illness onset. For an asymptomatic person, it is defined as someone who was within six feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes two days prior to specimen collection and until the time the patient was isolated.

More information can be found at https://butlercountyhealth.org/ .