The Hamilton County Health Department will no longer notify the close contacts of those positive with COVID-19 and asked residents to self-police their quarantine periods, signaling the outbreak is overwhelming Chattanooga’s established public health practices.
The department announced Friday it will continue contacting people who test positive but will stop contacting those who may have been exposed through each new infection until the current surge declines to more manageable levels.
Becky Barnes, health department administrator, said the change was due to increased testing, delays in getting results and a strain on computer systems.
“This is a temporary measure allowing us to focus on assuring positive cases are notified and isolated,” Barnes said. “We have had a very robust contact tracing program but as infections surge we must, at least temporarily, focus on trying to reach the positive cases. Asking people to notify their own contacts means more people get tested and quarantined.”
The department is also no longer sending letters notifying people when they can stop quarantining. Employers sometimes required such letters for people to return to work. According to the health department’s announcement, people should make a plan with their employers about the new change.