Orange County restarts coronavirus contract tracing as positive cases continue to decline

ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County is contact tracing again.

One month ago, Channel 9 reported the number of people with COVID-19 was so high it was too much for the Department of Health staff to handle.

They were only interviewing people who lived in long-term care facilities, first responders, and medical workers at the time.

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But now Orange County leaders said they able to speak with every person who tests positive.

Every day, when Charles Letizia walks into the Orange County Department of Health, he has a list of COVID-positive people to call.

He's one of the department's contact tracers, who interview people about their coronavirus diagnosis.

A month ago, the calls were limited because the amount of people testing positive was just too much to handle.

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“Our numbers have become a little bit more manageable, although there is still quite a bit of community spread occurring,” Letizia said.

Because Orange County has had fewer than 400 new cases a day for the last two and a half weeks, Health Officer Dr. Raul Pino said tracers are now able to call and interview every person with a positive result.

Orange County also has an agreement with the state that if contact tracers cannot get to all of the new cases that day, state staff will step in and help.

Cox Media Group