Rhode Island Looking To Hire 100 New Coronavirus Contact Tracers

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island Department of Health is expanding its contact tracing program to help meet the demand of the state's coronavirus cases. The department is looking to hire 100 new contact tracers, as soon as possible.

In the past weeks, the system has slowed down, Gov. Gina Raimondo said Wednesday, in part because of the rise in cases, but mostly because many confirmed positive cases have too many close contacts: some as many as 50.

"No one should have that," Raimondo said, reminding residents that the social gathering limit is still 15 people or fewer, and that it's important to keep social groups as small as possible and stable.

Each additional close contact that is identified for a positive individual must be contacted, and a high number of contacts can tie up a contact tracer for as much as a day, Raimondo said, causing a bottleneck in the system.

The Department of Health currently has 300 full-time contact tracers, 80 of whom are focused on the K-12 school testing system. On Wednesday, Raimondo put out the call for 100 new contact tracers, saying the department is looking for people with any phone or customer service experience who can commit to at least six months of full-time work, with the possibility of some night or weekend shifts. For more information, or to apply, visit the department's website.

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