Politics & Government
Nearly Half Of COVID-19 Cases Not Being Traced, Data Shows
Less than 54 percent of people who tested positive for COVID-19 have been interviewed by contact tracers, state data shows.
By Greg Bishop
The state has allocated nearly $240 million to local health departments to hire and conduct contact tracing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
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State data shows that about one in every other person who tests positive for COVID-19 gets connected with a contact tracer.
State data provided late last week showed less than 54 percent of people who tested positive for COVID-19 had been interviewed. Less than 57 percent of case contacts had been interviewed. The attempt rate was about 70 percent.
Find out what's happening in Across Illinoisfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said local health departments across the state are building out contact tracing programs.
“Do we need more? Yes,” Pritzker said. “The case numbers have gone up so we’ll continue to look at how we might be able to afford more and how we might be able to use volunteers.”
“We’re almost at 3,300 out of the 3,800 that are intended and many are in process of being hired,” Pritzker said.
He urged people who get a call from IL COVID HELP to answer.
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, tested positive for the virus on Oct. 24. He said he still has not been contacted.
“If we have so many people who have not been followed up on it really questions the entire system, to be honest with you, as to how well it’s working and how well it’s not working,” Butler said.
Butler said it’s another example in a series of issues where public hearings are needed. News conferences aren't enough, he said.
“To dodge and weave the press, the governor can do that pretty easily, or not answer questions, or move on,” Butler said. “It’s a whole different story to have the heads of your agencies before a committee of the legislature for an extensive setting.”
It’s unclear when lawmakers will return to Springfield. Leaders in the House have refused to call in-person hearings on other issues out of concerns of spreading COVID-19.
Some lawmakers have pushed for hearings on other issues, such as the problems of backlogs and fraud with unemployment through the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
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