Pennsylvania has increased its contact tracing staff to 1,205 people, the Department of Health announced Monday.

Of that number, 955 are already working, while an additional 250 are being hired and trained through a partnership with the private firm Insight Global, according to a news release.

“Pennsylvania has prioritized and mobilized contact tracing efforts to mitigate the spread of covid-19 ever since the pandemic struck the commonwealth,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said in a statement. “We are grateful for our volunteers and staff conducting this work. By hiring more contact tracing staff, we will strengthen and diversify our public health and contact tracing workforce.”

The state is also investing federal funding to hire 75 nursing staff to bolster its infrastructure of case investigators. The goal, according to the release, is to bring the state’s total to 185 community health nurses.

Contact tracing – the process of notifying and monitoring anyone who came in close contact with an individual who has tested positive for covid-19 – is set in motion when public health staff interview the infected individual and obtain a list of contacts who may have been exposed. Contact tracers then reach out to those exposed to notify them and ask them to stay home for a quarantine period of 14 days and monitor themselves for symptoms.

The Department of Health said the nearly 23,000 covid-19 cases from June 25 to July 24 were handled by 375 case investigators. The department said more than 68% of cases had a completed case investigation within 24 hours, and many others were completed within 48 hours.

Counting case investigators who doubled as contact tracers, the state had 588 contact tracing staff assigned to trace more than 14,000 close contacts who had been exposed to a covid-19.

The state’s contact tracing efforts have been expanding, including a plan to introduce an exposure-notification mobile application in early September. Smartphone technology from software developer Ireland-based NearForm Ltd. will notify people who have been exposed to individuals who identified themselves as testing positive. The state has a $1.9 million contract with the company.

Copyright ©2025— Trib Total Media, LLC (TribLIVE.com)