Rep. Tulsi Gabbard Calls For Hawaiʻi Department of Health To Fully Mobilize COVID-19 Contact Tracing Force

Press Release

Frustrated by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health's half-hearted deployment of too few trained contact tracers, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02) is calling for answers and for the department to fully mobilize its contact tracing force.

"The sheer number of COVID-19 infections that we are continuing to see blow through the roof require extensive testing and contact tracing. Congress has provided funding for contact tracing, and the Department of Health has over 400 trained contract tracers while only employing around 100 of them. There is no excuse not to actively employ all available, trained contact tracers, along with additional personnel from the Hawai"i National Guard, to rapidly trace, investigate, and contain every single positive COVID case," said Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. "Given the rate of infections we are seeing in Hawai"i, George Washington University recommends a staffing ratio of at least 40 contact tracers per 100,000 population. If the problem gets worse in Hawai"i, that ratio will increase. Currently the Hawai"i Department of Health has deployed less than 19% of that amount. The people of Hawai"i need a minimum of 564 contact tracers activated and employed immediately. Every hour, every day we delay puts more people in our community at risk."

Contact tracers are trained to communicate with people who have tested positive for COVID-19, determine who they may have been in contact with, and contact those individuals to quickly implement protective and isolating measures to contain the virus. Department of Health Director Bruce Anderson said recently that slightly over 100 Department staff are actively engaged in contact tracing today, while hundreds more are trained but not being utilized.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's call comes as Hawaiʻi's daily COVID-19 case count continues to reach new records -- including a new high of 173 infections today. Medical professionals, county officials, and both the Governor and Lieutenant Governor have all highlighted the need for increased contact tracing capacity and speed in order to help put a stop to the continuing high number of new COVID-19 infections.

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