Contact tracing is one of the best ways we have to stop the spread of COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. Contact tracing begins when a public health employee calls someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and asks who they have been in close contact with recently. Learn more about the Health Department’s contact tracing program.
Conversations with contact tracers address sensitive issues of personal health and safety. That’s why it’s important to know that the people on the other end of that phone call are real Philadelphians who just want the best for our city.
Let’s hear from our contact tracers
“The most important reason I joined the contact tracing team was to do my part in ensuring that comprehensive messaging and support services are allocated to all Philadelphians, especially communities of color. I remember one of my very first calls where I took extra time answering a contact’s questions. She was so appreciative that someone took time to connect with her, explain how she can protect herself and ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in her household. Moments like these keep me motivated each and every day! As an immigrant and first-generation college graduate, I understand how hard it is to navigate complex systems to get the care we ALL deserve.”
– Tolulope Oyetunde, Contact Tracing Coordinator
“Once I discovered the contact tracing opportunity, I knew I had to be part of the team that will put an end to the pandemic. As an immigrant myself, I feel it is my duty to take care of Philadelphians from all walks of life and make sure they are provided with the right information so to take care of themselves and their loved ones.”
– Nikos Dimopoulos, Contact Tracing Coordinator
“Equity means reaching people where they are, not expecting each person to be on the same level, and giving each individual the help and resources they need for true racial equality in a society that has often left their hands empty. In this era of COVID-19 very clearly disproportionately claiming the lives of minorities, I am forever grateful to be on a team that is fighting for racial equity and aiding the far-too-often marginalized people within our community.”
– Courteney Wilkinson, Contact Tracing Team Member
“The City of Brotherly (& Sisterly) Love” is not just a T-shirt slogan. We all genuinely care about our city, and eradicating this virus. People are eager to work together, as a community, to get the job done!”
– Deirdre Dignetti, Contact Tracing Team Member
