DC expanding contact tracer program today

DC expanding contact tracer program

The District is recruiting people to join its contact tracer program as it pushes to contain the coronavirus outbreak.

WASHINGTON - The District is expanding its contact tracer program as part of its campaign to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the city.

Last week, Mayor Muriel Bowser announced that the District had established a team of 65 people – today she announced that it would be expanding to 200.

Ultimately, they believe a force of 900 contact tracers will be required to track the novel coronavirus.

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The mayor said they will be hiring people in three categories – investigators, lead investigators and program managers.

The positions are 13-month terms in D.C. government.

The mayor said those jobs would be posted on the District’s career site on Wednesday.

"The goal of contact tracing is to identify nearly all cases of COVID-19, isolate infected individuals, and find, and alert their contacts, and then quarantine all the contacts," the mayor said.

The mayor – and other government leaders in the DMV – say a robust contact tracing program will be instrumental in reopening the local economy.

Click here to check on current openings.