FARGO, N.D. (AP) - For one contact tracer in North Dakota, which for months was among the worst states in the country for the coronavirus, it has been a baptism by fire.
Sarah Swartz was hired as a contact tracer for the state before she even completed her masters degree in public health. Now, she’s a case manager, supervising other contact tracers.
“COVID has been my life for the last nine months,” she said.
North Dakota didn’t have many cases early in the pandemic, but by July and August, the state had become a growing hot spot. With 1,000 contacts a day to deal with, Swartz said everyone was working seven days a week.
Eventually, North Dakota cut back and focused on contacting only the close contacts of people who had tested positive, instead of all contacts. Recently the state has expanded contact tracing again as case numbers began to decline, Minnesota Public Radio News reported.
Swartz says she’s been changed by 2020. The pandemic has taught her to put aside emotion in order to do her job.
“It’s hard to come compartmentalize because I am a very empathetic person,” she said. “And so when you talk to a case, and 10 days later they pass away, they maybe had a sore throat, a cough and then 10 days later they’re gone. It’s hard.”
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