Health officials launch online form to speed covid case investigations

Pennsylvania health officials will start conducting covid-19 case investigations digitally for some people, the Department of Health announced Monday.

The department unveiled a new “digital case investigation tool” for state residents between the ages of 19 and 64 who live in a county without its own county or municipal health department. The tool is an online form, called the Connect & Protect Form.

Health Secretary Rachel Levine said the form will work in tandem with the state’s existing case investigation and contact tracing tools, including calls from public health professionals and Covid Alert PA, the mobile contact tracing app. She said residents between 19 and 64 will still get a phone call, but they’ll be asked to provide their email address to receive the Connect & Protect Form.

“Launching this tool allows public health professionals to connect with more Pennsylvanians in record time to learn where people went and who they were in close contact with while infectious, in order to further protect loved ones and neighbors across the commonwealth,” Levine said in a statement.

The tool is meant to reach more Pennsylvanians and collect their case investigation information much faster, according to a news release. There are 230 case investigators who will continue to reach out to incoming cases younger than 19 and older than 64. Those case investigations typically take between 30 and 60 minutes to complete.

Once an individual has completed the Connect & Protect Form, contact tracers will reach out to the close contacts identified, as usual. All information collected through the form is confidential, as it would be over the phone, the release said.

Health officials continually have urged Pennsylvanians to cooperate with case investigations and contact tracing, as the process remains a struggle in the fight against covid-19. Case investigations are being prioritized for cases that seem most likely to lead to an outbreak, but health officials still report difficulty reaching many people by phone.

Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12, there were 71,341 new covid-19 cases across the state. Within 24 hours, case investigations had begun for only 9,274 cases, about 13%, and an additional 2,853 (4%) began after 48 hours. But during that week, according to a news release, only 6,420 people (9% of total cases) could be reached.

The Department of Health leaves voicemails, texts and sends a letter requesting individuals to return the call.

“As we add more resources and tools for Pennsylvanians to support those efforts, we ask for residents to use them. Please download the COVID Alert PA app and answer the call when a public health professional is calling you,” Levine said. “By participating in the outreach of our public health staff and using the tools in our toolbox, Pennsylvanians play their part in stopping the spread of covid-19 in our communities.”