The Oregon COVID-19 Contact Collaborative is a statewide effort of the Oregon Health Authority, local and tribal public health authorities, and community-based organizations to stop the spread of COVID-19 through coordinated contact tracing. Working together, we provide guidance and support to people who have been exposed to COVID-19.
Contact tracing means calling people who may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 to provide guidance and support. It’s a key tool for preventing the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In Oregon, local public health authorities use contact tracing to prevent the spread of many types of diseases, like measles.
Contact tracers help you stay healthy and slow the spread of COVID-19 by:
COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black/African American, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaskan Native communities in Oregon and across the United States. In an effort to address these inequities, the Oregon COVID-19 Contact Collaborative staff will be reflective of our diverse state and culturally responsive to the needs of all Oregonians.
Community-based organizations (CBOs), including advocacy groups, and Community Health Workers (CHWs) are central to the success of our contact tracing efforts. They will help us reach and respond to the needs of people of color, tribal members, people with disabilities, immigrant and refugee communities, LGBTQIA+ communities, and migrant and seasonal farm workers.
We want everyone to feel safe answering the call from a contact tracer. Your information is strictly confidential and will be treated as a confidential public health record. Your information will not be shared with other agencies, including immigration officials.
Contact tracers will ask you questions about race, ethnicity, language and disability in order to provide more equitable services to people who have been most affected by current and long-standing racism and oppression. You can see the types of questions you may be asked here.
Local and tribal public health authorities will ask:
Local public and tribal health authorities will never ask for your:
If anyone calls you requesting this information, hang up. This could be someone trying to use your information for a scam.
If you are concerned about answering a call from a number you don’t know:
If you suspect fraud, hang up the phone. Do not answer any other calls that come from that number:
A local public or tribal health official will call and encourage you to self-isolate.
Self-isolation means…
Self-isolate for:
Even if you don’t have symptoms or feel sick, self-isolate for 10 days after you are first diagnosed with COVID-19.
Local public or tribal health will:
Your privacy will be protected
Local public or tribal health will reach out to your contacts and ask them to quarantine. Your privacy will be protected, and your contacts will not be told your identity.
Contact tracers working with local public or tribal health authorities will call to let you know that you have been in contact with someone who has COVID-19.
They will ask you to quarantine.
Quarantine means...
A 14-day quarantine is the safest option to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others.
If you have not had any symptoms, you may consider ending quarantine early:
If you choose to shorten your quarantine, there is a small chance you could spread the infection to others. It is critical that you continue to check for symptoms daily. If you start to feel sick, you should return to quarantine, notify your local public health authority and call your health care provider to discuss testing. Shortened quarantine is not an option for residents or patients in long-term care facilities and other congregate care settings.
During your quarantine, contact tracers will:
If you do not experience any symptoms or get sick after your 14 days of quarantine, you may end your quarantine and resume your normal activities.
If you have received the COVID-19 vaccine, you do not need to quarantine if:
You should still monitor yourself for COVID-19 symptoms during the 14 days after exposure, and if symptoms develop, you should isolate and seek testing.
COVID-19 symptoms
Cough, shortness of breath, or difficulty breathing.
Fever, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell.
OHSU’s The Key to Oregon Study and OSU’s TRACE initiative are research studies to track the spread of COVID-19 in Oregon. They are not related to our local public health contact tracing efforts. However, if during their research activities, a person with a positive COVID-19 test is found, local public health authorities will follow up to provide support and to see if they may have exposed others to the virus.
The Oregon COVID-19 Contact Collaborative is a joint effort with Oregon Health Authority (OHA), local health authorities, health districts, tribal authorities and community-based organizations, to reduce the spread of COVID-19 through coordinated, state-wide contact tracing.
Together we can keep Oregonians healthy and stop the spread of COVID-19 in our state.
Accessibility: For individuals with disabilities or individuals who speak a language other than English, OHA can provide information in alternate formats such as translations, large print, or braille. Contact the Health Information Center at 1-971-673-2411, 711 TTY or COVID19.LanguageAccess@dhsoha.state.or.us
Printing requests: You can download materials on this page. OHA does not offer paper versions. Please feel free to print whatever you need.
Language access: OHA is working to provide original content in languages other than English. Many of the materials in our community resources section are available in multiple languages. OHA is also providing the Google™ Translate option to assist you in reading the OHA website in languages other than English. Google™ Translate cannot translate all types of documents and may not provide an exact translation. Anyone relying on information obtained from Google™ Translate does so at their own risk. OHA does not make any promises, assurances, or guarantees as to the accuracy of the translations provided.
General questions: COVID.19@dhsoha.state.or.us Because of the large volume of questions, OHA cannot directly reply to emails.
Website feedback: Health.Webmaster@dhsoha.state.or.us
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