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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Contact tracing is facing challenges as cases for COVID-19 continue to rise in many states around the country.
"The challenge with contract tracing, in general, is that the foundation of a successful contact tracing effort is trust. And traditionally the health departments don't have a great relationship with the public mostly because people only hear from the health department when there's a crisis or when something is going on," said Dr. Lisa Fitzpatrick, founder and CEO, Grapevine Health.
Some examples of the suspicions and apathy they're seeing include what's happening in Louisiana.
Only around 59% of the people there who have tested positive for COVID-19 since mid-May have responded to phone calls from contact tracers.
One doctor says we've gotten to this point of apathy because the importance of coming forward right away wasn't communicated well to the public at the beginning of the pandemic.
