Coronavirus Vocabulary: Contact Tracing

Coronavirus has been teaching us a lot about infectious disease and public health. But it's also teaching us a lot of new words. I'm going to help you talk coronavirus. It really is learning a new language.

What's contact tracing? If you test positive for COVID-19, a trained investigator known as a contact tracer will gather information about you, such as where you've been and who you've come into close contact with. They'll ask you to isolate yourself for a period of time, and also ask anyone you've had contact with to get tested and quarantine until they get the results.

Now one thing a contact tracer won't do is share your information. If you've heard rumors that contact tracing makes your personal information public, you could file that one under conspiracy theory. Because it's simply not true. By working with a contact tracer, you're helping to slow the spread of the virus and save others from getting sick.