North Carolina announced Monday two partners in its effort to boost the number of contact tracers for the coronavirus. Hiring starts immediately and people can apply online.
One of Gov. Roy Cooper’s benchmarks for reopening the state is the ability to do adequate levels of contact tracing. That's the process of identifying people who have been in contact with known positive cases of the coronavirus. The goal is to prevent more infections.
State health officials are now partnering with Community Care of North Carolina and the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers. The partnership is called the Carolina Community Tracing Collaborative.
At a press briefing Monday, North Carolina Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen encouraged people who want to become contact tracers to begin their application online.
"Special consideration will be given to those who are unemployed, have community engagement experience, and live in the communities that they will serve," Cohen said.
Cohen said the partnership would hire 250 additional staff members, with the possibility of hiring more. These contact tracers would supplement the tracing efforts of county health departments around the state.
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