Contact Tracing Resources for Health Departments

Resources for Conducting Contact Tracing to Stop the Spread of COVID-19

Updated Dec. 11, 2020

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Guidance documents
Contact tracing implementation
Communication resources
Digital tools for contact tracing
Federal and state resources
Private sector and other non-governmental resources

What's New

Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing
CDC Guidance for Expanded Screening Testing to Reduce Silent Spread of SARS-CoV-2
Answer the Call – Contact Tracing Video (Español)
Prioritizing Case Investigations and Contact Tracing for COVID-19 in High Burden Jurisdictions
Prioritizing COVID-19 Contact Tracing – Mathematical Modeling Methods and Findings

Resources from CDC

CDC guidance for COVID-19 may be adapted by state and local health departments to respond to rapidly changing local circumstances.

CDC guidance documents

Interim Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools
This guidance is intended to help administrators of K-12 schools plan for the development and implementation of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts in their schools. This guidance highlights potential collaboration between health officials and K-12 school administrators to facilitate effective case investigation and contact tracing.
Interim Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs)
This guidance is intended to help administrators of IHEs plan for the development and implementation of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts in their schools. This guidance highlights potential collaboration between health officials and IHE administrators to facilitate effective case investigation and contact tracing.
Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in Non-healthcare Workplaces: Information for Employers
This document provides tips and considerations for how employers can partner with state, tribal, local, or territorial (STLT) health departments and work with their employees in these COVID-19 response efforts.
Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan
This CDC interim guidance document is intended to assist state, local, territorial and tribal health departments develop jurisdictional plans for the implementation and enhancement of COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing efforts. Content will be updated as new information is available.
Handling Non-COVID-19 Public Health Activities that Require Face-to-Face Interaction with Clients in the Clinic and Field in the Current COVID-19 Pandemic
CDC guidance for the management of public health workers engaged in public health activities that require face-to-face interaction with clients in clinic and field settings.
Community-Related Exposures
CDC’s recommendations for community-related exposures to COVID-19.
Travel-Associated Exposures
CDC’s recommendations for travel-associated exposures to COVID-19.
CDC Activities and Initiatives Supporting the COVID-19 Response and the President’s Plan for Opening America Up Again pdf icon[PDF – 62 pages]
This document briefly summarizes CDC’s initiatives, activities, and tools in support of the Whole-of-Government response to COVID-19.
Training, Evaluation, and Monitoring Guidance for Health Departments pdf icon[PDF – 16 pages]
This document will help supervisors and training leads to effectively develop and assess case investigators’ interviewing skills.
Prioritizing Case Investigation and Contact Tracing for COVID-19 in High Burden Jurisdictions
This new guidance further refines prioritization recommendations and presents emerging modeling data regarding timeframes for effectiveness.
Prioritizing COVID-19 Contact Tracing – Mathematical Modeling Methods and Findings
This document presents emerging modeling data regarding timeframes for case investigation and contact tracing effectiveness.
Options to Reduce Quarantine for Contacts of Persons with SARS-CoV-2 Infection Using Symptom Monitoring and Diagnostic Testing
CDC currently recommends a quarantine period of 14 days. However, based on local circumstances and resources, options to shorten quarantine are available as acceptable alternatives.
CDC Guidance for Expanded Screening Testing to Reduce Silent Spread of SARS-CoV-2
The updated guidance is meant to assist health departments in decision making and considerations for groups to be considered for expanded screening testing with the aim of slowing asymptomatic and presymptomatic community transmission.

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CDC contact tracing implementation guides and tools

Technical Assistant Note: Transferring COVID-19 Contact Tracing Records via Epi-X
The document is a supplement to CDC’s Health Departments: Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan. The resource provides information on transferring COVID-19 cases and contacts between health jurisdictions.
Principles of Contact Tracing
CDC’s basic principles of contact tracing to stop COVID-19 transmission.
General Contact Tracing and Case Investigation Training Modules
Trainings for public health professionals interested in becoming a contact tracer or case investigator, as well as those who already serve in these roles and are seeking to improve their knowledge.
COVID-19 Contact Tracing Training: Guidance, Resources, and Training Plan
These sample training plans include training topics that may be helpful for state and local public health jurisdictions to consider when designing their own training plans for COVID-19 contact tracers, case investigators, and team leads.
CDC-funded Training for the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Workforce pdf icon[2 pages]
The CDC COVID-19 Response and the CDC Division of STD Prevention are supporting two cooperative agreements to train the COVID-19 contact tracing workforce.
Notification of Exposure – A Contact Tracer’s Guide for COVID-19
This is guide provides suggested communication approaches and steps for public health staff to create a script for contact tracers to tell people that they may have been exposed to COVID-19.
Key Information to Collect During a Case Interview
The purpose of this document is to provide key information that should be covered in the case interview.
Talking with the Patient – A Case Investigator’s Guide to COVID-19
The intent of this document is to provide suggested communication strategies for COVID-19 case interviews.
Health Department Checklist: Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan pdf icon[PDF – 6 pages]
This checklist is a supplement to CDC’s Health Departments: Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan and is a tool that can assist health departments in developing a comprehensive plan.
Contact Tracing: A Community Engagement Checklist for Health Departments pdf icon[PDF – 3 pages]
Keep these tips in mind when working with community organizations on contact tracing.
Españolpdf icon
Self-Isolation and Self-Quarantine Home Assessment Checklist pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
This checklist is to help case investigators and contact tracers in assessing a person’s ability to safely isolate or quarantine at home, and the need for additional social support.
Daily Temperature/Symptom Log for Close Contacts pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
This document is a daily temperature/symptom log for people who are considered close contacts to monitor their health.
COVIDTracer
A spreadsheet-based tool that allows state- and local-level public health officials and policy makers to compare between three different contact tracing/monitoring strategies.
Case Investigator COVID-19 Response Job Description Templatepdf icon
A job description template for health departments to quickly scale up their staff to response to COVID-19.
Communicable Disease Investigator COVID-19 Response Job Description Templatepdf icon
A job description template for health departments to quickly scale up their staff to response to COVID-19.
Contact Tracer COVID-19 Response Job Description Templatepdf icon
A job description template for health departments to quickly scale up their staff to response to COVID-19.
Supervisor or Team Lead for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing COVID-19 Response Job Description Templatepdf icon
A job description template for health departments to quickly scale up their staff to response to COVID-19.
3 Key Steps to Take While Waiting for Your COVID-19 Test Results pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
This resource will help explain what people should do while they are waiting for a COVID-19 test result to help them prepare for contact tracing.
Españolpdf icon | Chinesepdf icon | Koreanpdf icon | Marshallesepdf icon | Vietnamesepdf icon
Case Investigation Workflow pdf icon[PDF – 1 page]
This document is an infographic of the case investigation workflow for COVID-19.
Contact Tracing Workflow pdf icon[PDF – 1 page]
This document is an infographic of the contact tracing workflow for COVID-19.

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CDC communication resources

Answer the Call – Contact Tracing Video
This 1-minute long animation video with voiceover informs the public about contact tracing and why they should answer and respond to a call from a contact tracer.
Español
Overview of Contact Tracing
A brief summary of contact tracing and what to expect
Contact Tracing – CDC’s Role and Approach pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
This document provides an overview of CDC’s role and approach to contact tracing for COVID-19.
COVID-19 Contact Tracing Communications Toolkit for Health Departments
This toolkit provides health departments with sample talking points, public service announcements, graphics, social media posts and more for communicating about contact tracing for COVID-19. Also available in Spanish.
Contact Tracing Frequently Asked Questions and Answers
Check out CDC’s answers to commonly asked questions about COVID-19.
Contact Tracing Steps Infographic pdf icon[PDF – 2 pages]
This document is an infographic that explains the steps of contact tracing for people who are diagnosed with COVID-19 and people who may have been around someone with COVID-19.
Español | Chinese | Vietnamese | Korean | Marshallese

Find additional communication resources for health departments including toolkits, videos, print resources, and more.

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CDC information on digital tools for COVID-19 contact tracing

Guidelines for the Implementation and Use of Digital Tools to Augment Traditional Contact Tracing pdf icon[PDF – 7 pages]
This document is an update and expansion on previously published evaluation criteria.
Preliminary Criteria for the Evaluation of Digital Contact Tracing Tools for COVID-19 pdf icon[PDF – 3 pages]
(Please reference the Guidelines for the Implementation and Use of Digital Tools to Augment Traditional Contact Tracing pdf icon[PDF – 7 pages] for updated information.) This document contains preliminary criteria that define minimum and preferred characteristics of digital contact tracing tools to help health departments overcome one or more obstacles in the COVID-19 contact tracing workflow.
Contact Tracing: Using Digital Tools pdf icon[2 pages]
This technology guide serves as a companion to the case investigation and contact tracing workflows and describes how and where technology can assist in the processes.

Refer to the Interim Guidance on Developing a COVID-19 Case Investigation & Contact Tracing Plan for information about digital contact tracing tools.

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Resources from federal and state organizations

Content describing non-CDC tools on this site is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended to indicate endorsement, actual or implied, of the tools. Additionally, information on this site is provided “as is,” for users to evaluate and make their own determination as to their effectiveness.