Public Health Madison & Dane County

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Contact tracing

The CDC, DHS, and Public Health recommend that schools follow a layered approach to COVID-19 mitigation, including promoting vaccination for those who are eligible, requiring masks indoors, increased sanitation and cleaning.

Another key layer in stopping a school outbreak is contact tracing, in combination with isolation and quarantine. This element of preventing the spread of disease requires collaboration between Public Health, school districts, and parents and students:

Step 1:

Whenever Public Health contacts someone with COVID-19, we work with them to identify their close contacts and either notify the close contacts that they were exposed, or provide the person with COVID-19 with tools they can use to notify their contacts. When kids attend school, their parents usually don’t know who their close contacts are at school or have contact information for their families, which is why a partnership and strong communication between Public Health and school health staff is so vital. We notify the school that the child has COVID-19 and school staff identify and notify close contacts from school.

Step 2:

When a school has a student or staff person who tests positive for COVID-19, school staff work with a Public Health site investigator. Together, they track all of the cases and contacts at the school to determine if there is spread happening at the school and discuss additional steps the school can take to reduce spread if it is occurring.

Step 3:

After being notified a student has been identified as a close contact, what happens next depends on the person’s vaccination status:

• Unvaccinated close contacts need to follow one of the quarantine options.

• Vaccinated close contacts need to get tested.

The Takeaway: Schools and families are invaluable partners in controlling the spread of COVID-19 in Dane County.

Cases are still lower than the peak we saw during the surge last fall and we are trying to keep it that way by layered strategies in our schools. By getting vaccinated if you’re eligible, notifying close contacts, quarantining if necessary, getting tested if you’re having symptoms and following Public Health guidance surrounding masks, we can work together to ensure our students are able to continue to enjoy in-person learning and stay healthy.

Looking for more information?

Check out the recommendations and guidance for schools and childcare facilities and read through an FAQ designed for parents with questions about their children returning to in-person learning safely, read our blog post.