Interrogator, Therapist, Nurse: What it Takes to be a Coronavirus Contact Tracer
The contact tracers often find themselves in a tangled web of half-truths and facts that don’t match up. Language and cultural barriers arise that require interpreters and taxing conversations that leave the investigators wondering if the person understands what they’re trying to do.
Health investigator Maria DiCaro found out days into a case that a father was sleeping in his car because he and his wife were separating. The man had stopped returning DiCaro’s calls, and that key information came from his child. “I get people that lie all time,” DiCaro said. “I try to get as much information from the beginning but it’s just not always the case. And time is one of those things you can’t take back when you are trying to prevent and you know do these contact tracing investigations.” Each call is an exercise in good cop, bad cop. She needs people to cooperate, but no one is legally required to answer the questions. Usually kindness works better than strong words. Some people lie because they’re scared, or they forget an outing. Construction workers, housekeepers and others without paid sick time may gloss over symptoms so they can get back to work. Some immigrants without documentation brush off testing because they fear it could lead to deportation. “People sometimes think contact tracing is black and white but there is a lot of gray that goes into it,” said Bray, who often thinks about her parents and 97-year-old grandmother as she works to help stop the spread of the virus. “Our worst fear is that we push too hard and we lose someone. It’s not just their health on the line, it’s the people around them.”No matter the tension, Bray and DiCaro give frequent reminders of why it all matters: “Thank you for what you’re doing. You’re helping the community,” DiCaro says during one call. She knows that on the other end of the line, the first call from a tracer can be jarring. Sometimes, DiCaro and Bray have to break the news that someone was exposed or tested positive. “It’s normal to talk to like your doctor, but you don’t ever expect the health department to call you and be like, ‘You were exposed to a serious disease,’” said Anissa Archuleta. The 23-year-old got a call from DiCaro after she, her sister and her mother took a rare break from hunkering down to help organize a drive-by birthday party for a young cousin. They dropped off a present, then caved and accepted an impromptu invitation to go inside to grab some food. What they didn’t know: the father of the birthday boy had the coronavirus, and unknowingly exposed more than a dozen people at the gathering. Shoppers stand in line outside a supermarket line amid the coronavirus pandemic on April 16, 2020 in New York City.After that first call, DiCaro checked in every day for two weeks. The fear slowly faded after their tests came back negative and they began building a rapport with DiCaro. She asked about their symptoms and how they were feeling each day and learned about how Archuleta’s mother lost her voice to fibromyalgia. Archuleta would pass along messages her mother whispered in her ear.About a week in to their calls, on the daily check-in, Archuleta thanked DiCaro for caring about them and checking in every day. Tears welled up in DiCaro’s eyes. “Ah thanks,” she said as she grabbed a Kleenex to wipe her eyes.“When you do this like 10-12 hours a day … It’s nice to get those positive reactions from people that are very grateful who do see the purpose of what we are doing,” said DiCaro. “It’s nice to be appreciated.”
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