Corona: According to the study, contact tracing alone is not enough

The university announced on Wednesday that it would have to be supplemented by further measures. Contact tracing refers to the tracking of contacts of people infected with the virus. This is with the aim of preventing further infections. “The effectiveness of this strategy depends mainly on the characteristics of the disease in terms of symptoms, contagiousness and transmission routes”said Delphine Courvoisier from the University of Geneva. “In the case of Ebola, for example, where patients are only contagious after the onset of symptoms, or closer to home, in the case of measles, contact tracing has proven effective in breaking chains of transmission.”

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41 percent: Coverage is not enough to stop Covid-19

To evaluate the effectiveness of contact tracing during the coronavirus pandemic, a research team led by Courvoisier analyzed data from more than 140,000 coronavirus cases recorded in the canton of Geneva between June 2020 and March 2022. The one in the journal “Eurosurveillance” Published results show that on average 41 percent of people who were infected by someone living in the same house were reported to contact tracing by this person.

This coverage is not enough to stop the spread of Covid-19, the study said. The authors suggest that in order to contain the coronavirus, measures should also be taken that aim to avoid unnoticed infections. They cite wearing face masks, air filters and restrictions on gatherings as examples.

Wealthy people were less likely to report contacts

According to the study, people who lived in large buildings with many common areas were less likely to report their contacts. According to the researchers, this is probably due to unintentional omissions, such as people not knowing their neighbors or becoming infected in the elevator without direct contact.

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In addition, people in wealthy neighborhoods were less likely to report their contacts than others, the university wrote. “This result could be due to the fact that individuals living in affluent neighborhoods may have jobs that allow them to work remotely and therefore have less need for official quarantine certificates”wrote the researchers. “But it is also consistent with studies that have found that people from a higher social class are more likely to make unethical decisions or to break the law.” According to the study, contact tracing could be improved by measures that target population groups that live, for example, in affluent neighborhoods or large residential buildings.

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