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| How a Covid-19 Contact Tracer Spends Her Sundays | How a Covid-19 Contact Tracer Spends Her Sundays |
| (10 days later) | |
| Kimberly Jocelyn is a contact tracing supervisor with New York City Health and Hospitals Test & Trace Corps, which has, since May, employed more than 3,000 researchers, callers and field workers in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. | Kimberly Jocelyn is a contact tracing supervisor with New York City Health and Hospitals Test & Trace Corps, which has, since May, employed more than 3,000 researchers, callers and field workers in an attempt to stop the spread of Covid-19. |
| Earlier this year, Ms. Jocelyn, 29 and a recent graduate of Columbia University’s School of Public Health, worked at the CDC Quarantine Station at Kennedy International Airport. | Earlier this year, Ms. Jocelyn, 29 and a recent graduate of Columbia University’s School of Public Health, worked at the CDC Quarantine Station at Kennedy International Airport. |
| Now she is working from her home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, where she leads a team of 15 contact tracers. Most Sundays she is on the job, but she doesn’t mind. | Now she is working from her home in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, where she leads a team of 15 contact tracers. Most Sundays she is on the job, but she doesn’t mind. |
| “I am incredibly passionate about health equity, addressing health disparities and saving lives,” she said. “The work we’re doing is crucial.” | “I am incredibly passionate about health equity, addressing health disparities and saving lives,” she said. “The work we’re doing is crucial.” |
| SELF-CARE I’m up every morning at 6 or 6:30. I’ll work out a little bit, make breakfast and sometimes journal. And I always look for something to make me laugh. Usually it’s memes or GIFs my friends have sent overnight. | SELF-CARE I’m up every morning at 6 or 6:30. I’ll work out a little bit, make breakfast and sometimes journal. And I always look for something to make me laugh. Usually it’s memes or GIFs my friends have sent overnight. |
| DIVISION OF DUTIES At 6:50, I start checking emails and getting ready for the workday. Right now, I’m overseeing a team of information gatherers, which is one of the roles for contact tracers. Information gatherers conduct research so case investigators can reach out to contacts of Covid patients. | DIVISION OF DUTIES At 6:50, I start checking emails and getting ready for the workday. Right now, I’m overseeing a team of information gatherers, which is one of the roles for contact tracers. Information gatherers conduct research so case investigators can reach out to contacts of Covid patients. |
| A few weeks ago, I was supervising case investigators, the people who notify patients about positive test results. There are also contact tracers who go out into the field to connect with and to further engage confirmed cases. | A few weeks ago, I was supervising case investigators, the people who notify patients about positive test results. There are also contact tracers who go out into the field to connect with and to further engage confirmed cases. |
| PRECIOUS CARGO Any emails I send have to be joyous and send great energy, because my team needs to feel supported. Before I email, I’ll analyze any trends I can find on the virus to keep them updated. The scripts on this virus are changing almost every day. They need the most up-to-date information I can get them. | PRECIOUS CARGO Any emails I send have to be joyous and send great energy, because my team needs to feel supported. Before I email, I’ll analyze any trends I can find on the virus to keep them updated. The scripts on this virus are changing almost every day. They need the most up-to-date information I can get them. |
| BACKUP Before I started working as a supervisor, I was trained to conduct interviews with patients. Having the opportunity to conduct calls myself was a great experience, because if any difficult questions come up while one of my team is on the phone, I can usually provide guidance. | BACKUP Before I started working as a supervisor, I was trained to conduct interviews with patients. Having the opportunity to conduct calls myself was a great experience, because if any difficult questions come up while one of my team is on the phone, I can usually provide guidance. |
| Say a case investigator informs an individual they’ve tested positive, and it’s a shock to that person. Not knowing who it is they may have come in close proximity with comes with various emotions. We have to maintain strict confidentiality, and we have to provide a supportive, respectful, trusting environment to process those emotions. Sometimes that involves a moment of silence. | Say a case investigator informs an individual they’ve tested positive, and it’s a shock to that person. Not knowing who it is they may have come in close proximity with comes with various emotions. We have to maintain strict confidentiality, and we have to provide a supportive, respectful, trusting environment to process those emotions. Sometimes that involves a moment of silence. |
| TRANSPARENCY ON BOTH SIDES All our calls are recorded. They last about 20 minutes. Throughout the calls, we inform people who we are, and that the call is not to cause any more stress. Our goal is to provide information about Covid-19 and to let them know about the resources we can provide. We also want to obtain information about who they’ve been in contact with so we can stop the spread. It’s extremely important to be patient and compassionate. Allowing cases to vent is important, too, so that they feel they’re in a safe environment and can be transparent with us. | TRANSPARENCY ON BOTH SIDES All our calls are recorded. They last about 20 minutes. Throughout the calls, we inform people who we are, and that the call is not to cause any more stress. Our goal is to provide information about Covid-19 and to let them know about the resources we can provide. We also want to obtain information about who they’ve been in contact with so we can stop the spread. It’s extremely important to be patient and compassionate. Allowing cases to vent is important, too, so that they feel they’re in a safe environment and can be transparent with us. |
| Updated July 7, 2020 | |
| The coronavirus can stay aloft for hours in tiny droplets in stagnant air, infecting people as they inhale, mounting scientific evidence suggests. This risk is highest in crowded indoor spaces with poor ventilation, and may help explain super-spreading events reported in meatpacking plants, churches and restaurants. It’s unclear how often the virus is spread via these tiny droplets, or aerosols, compared with larger droplets that are expelled when a sick person coughs or sneezes, or transmitted through contact with contaminated surfaces, said Linsey Marr, an aerosol expert at Virginia Tech. Aerosols are released even when a person without symptoms exhales, talks or sings, according to Dr. Marr and more than 200 other experts, who have outlined the evidence in an open letter to the World Health Organization. | |
| Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days. | |
| Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles. | |
| A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. | |
| The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth. | |
| The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave. | |
| So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement. | |
| Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks. | |
| A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study. | |
| If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.) | |
| If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others. | |
| FRESH AIR I am proud of and love the work that I do. However, this work is hard because of the communal sense of loss, grief, and trauma, and it’s essential for me to be self-aware and attend to my own needs and mental health. I don’t necessarily have a set time for breaks, but I do take them. It’s important to go outside, get some fresh air. When I’m outside with the sun on my skin it changes my mood. Especially after sitting at the computer. I’ll take some water and a snack. | FRESH AIR I am proud of and love the work that I do. However, this work is hard because of the communal sense of loss, grief, and trauma, and it’s essential for me to be self-aware and attend to my own needs and mental health. I don’t necessarily have a set time for breaks, but I do take them. It’s important to go outside, get some fresh air. When I’m outside with the sun on my skin it changes my mood. Especially after sitting at the computer. I’ll take some water and a snack. |
| THE TOUGH PART It’s not easy telling someone they’ve tested positive for Covid-19, especially if they were not aware or informed of their test results before receiving a call from the NYC Health and Hospitals Test and Trace Corps. I have not experienced getting yelled at or hung up on. However, I have been on calls where cases disclosed feeling confused and distressed. It’s important not to take difficult calls personally, because the case may have experienced trauma before and during the pandemic. With challenging calls, I inform supervisees of the importance of being genuine and meeting the cases where they are. | THE TOUGH PART It’s not easy telling someone they’ve tested positive for Covid-19, especially if they were not aware or informed of their test results before receiving a call from the NYC Health and Hospitals Test and Trace Corps. I have not experienced getting yelled at or hung up on. However, I have been on calls where cases disclosed feeling confused and distressed. It’s important not to take difficult calls personally, because the case may have experienced trauma before and during the pandemic. With challenging calls, I inform supervisees of the importance of being genuine and meeting the cases where they are. |
| SIGN OFF At 5 or 6, I have to pull myself away from my desk. It doesn’t even feel like work, because I’m in such a great, collaborative work space. I know we’re making a direct impact within the community, and I also believe we’re addressing health disparities. I think it’s incredible. | SIGN OFF At 5 or 6, I have to pull myself away from my desk. It doesn’t even feel like work, because I’m in such a great, collaborative work space. I know we’re making a direct impact within the community, and I also believe we’re addressing health disparities. I think it’s incredible. |
| FRIENDS ON SCREENS In the evening, I stretch, I cook, I check in with loved ones. I read the news or I’ll read for pleasure. The last book I read was Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.” I’m thinking about what she’s saying and how I can potentially apply it to what’s happening in my own life. And I’m always on a video call. Sometimes if I want to have a sleepover, I’ll fall asleep on FaceTime. I like having another person with me, even if it’s not physically. | FRIENDS ON SCREENS In the evening, I stretch, I cook, I check in with loved ones. I read the news or I’ll read for pleasure. The last book I read was Michelle Obama’s “Becoming.” I’m thinking about what she’s saying and how I can potentially apply it to what’s happening in my own life. And I’m always on a video call. Sometimes if I want to have a sleepover, I’ll fall asleep on FaceTime. I like having another person with me, even if it’s not physically. |
| Sunday Routine readers can follow Kimberly Jocelyn on Twitter @kimberly_joc. | Sunday Routine readers can follow Kimberly Jocelyn on Twitter @kimberly_joc. |