CDC provides financial help for contact tracing

Federal funds aimed to help COVID-19 response, improve and expand contact tracing

The state is sending $20 million in aid from the CDC to cash-strapped and overwhelmed local health districts to help them improve contact tracing.

The state is sending about $20 million in aid from the federal Centers of Disease Control to cash-strapped and overwhelmed local health districts to help them improve contact tracing and better respond to the coronavirus.

The funding will help cover the growing costs to do contact tracing, overtime, to purchase equipment and to run flu shot clinics and to eventually assist in distributing a COVIDvaccine down the line. The state has approved funds for 21 of the state’s 65 local health districts and departments.

“This is a really significant chunk of funding for local health to sustain the partnership and the work that we are doing together to address this pandemic,” said Dr. Deidre Gifford, the acting commissioner of the Department of Public Health, during a press conference at Charter Oak Park in Manchester.

“This (contact tracing) is really the critical foundation to addressing the pandemic if an individual is found to be positive they will get a call from either a local or state contract tracer,” Gifford said. “The public should know we will continue to enhance these efforts as much as possible, and that their information will always be protected. Everyone should feel comfortable answering a call from a contact tracer.”

Gov. Ned Lamont said that the local health departments and local health directors like Manchester’s Jeff Cattlett have been vital to