Health Department Hiring Coronavirus Contact Tracers Across VA

VIRGINIA — With increased testing and contact tracing being one metric for Gov. Ralph Northam's first reopening phase, the Virginia Department of Health is hiring for various positions related to those efforts. Among the available positions are case investigator, COVID-19 data analytics coordinator, COVID-19 regional testing supervisor and contact tracers.

On Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam and State Health Commissioner Norm Oliver discussed the intention of hiring over 1,000 contact tracers. There are currently several hundred contact tracers on staff, but state officials want to follow expert recommendations of having 15 to 30 contact tracers per 100,000 people.

On the testing front, Johns Hopkins University data shows Virginia as one of the lowest ranked states for testing per 100,000 people. Northam cited a daily testing goal of 10,000 people for reopening the economy. The highest daily testing number so far is 6,895 individuals on May 1.

As of Thursday, a total of 122,119 unique people were tested in Virginia. Overall, 136,558 tests have been completed, an increase of 8,620 from Tuesday to Thursday. The Virginia Department of Health has provided a map of testing locations, searchable by zip code.

Here are descriptions of positions the Virginia Department of Health is filling, according to listings on Indeed.com:

• COVID-19 Case investigator examines reports of people suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 and interview them to help with public health case investigations and contact tracing.

• COVID-19 data analytics coordinator analyzes data related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the public health response.

• COVID-19 regional testing supervisor coordinates testing for cases and contacts of COVID-19 in a region.

• Contact tracer is an entry level position tasked with identifying and contacting people who may have had contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19.

Positions are available around Virginia. This includes the Northern region (Alexandria, Loudoun, Lord Fairfax, Prince William and Central Shenandoah); Piedmont Region (central Virginia, Martinsville, Danville, Farmville, southside Virginia); Central Region (Richmond and surrounding areas including Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula); Western Region (Lenowisco, Alleghany/Roanoke, Mt. Rogers, Cumberland Plateau, New River); and Coastal Region (Peninsula/Hampton, Western Tidewater, Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Eastern Shore).

SEE ALSO:

• Northam: Local Restrictions Not Ruled Out Amid Virginia Reopening

• VA Governor To Ease Coronavirus Restrictions Starting May 15

• Hospitalizations In Virginia From Coronavirus Climbing Again

• VA Coronavirus Cases Reach 20K With Phased Reopening In Sight

This article originally appeared on the Kingstowne-Rose Hill Patch