COVID-19 and Schools: Case Management, Testing, and Assisting with Contact Tracing

Epidemiologists and technical experts from the CT Department of Public Health and a Local Health Department in Connecticut actively involved with contact tracing (Chatham Health District) will discuss the importance of contact tracing; and strategies for schools to recognize who is considered a contact and how to assist local health departments with their informational needs. Presenters will also provide clarity around issues related to scenarios for COVID-19 positive individuals in the school setting and how school administrators and health staff should approach the identification, isolation, exclusion, and return to school for students and staff. In addition, panelists will discuss when testing for students and staff is a useful tool and why in many cases it is not.

Presenters: Lynn Sosa, MD, Deputy State Epidemiologist, TB/STD Control Programs Medical Director, Connecticut Department of Public Health; Kristin Gerard, MPH, Vaccine Preventable Disease Surveillance Coordinator, Immunization Program, Connecticut Department of Public Health; Kristen Soto, MPH, Epidemiologist, Infectious Disease Section; Laurie Ann Wagner, LCSW, Contact Tracing Project Manager, Connecticut Department of Public Health (Secondment); Thomas St. Louis, MSPH, Epidemiologist, Environmental and Occupational Health Assessment, Connecticut Department of Public Health; Russell Melmed, MPH, Director of Health, Chatham Health District.