Niagara Region Public Health to scale back contact tracing and expand booster dose campaign

Niagara Region Public Health (NRPH) says it is implementing changes to case and contact management as Public Health continues to shift resources to vaccination efforts. 

It says the COVID-19 Omicron variant has shortened the time between exposure to an infected person and then becoming contagious.

Public Health says it is less likely to be able to intervene early enough to break chains of transmission because of the effect of delayed testing, a faster-moving virus and more cases and contacts stretching capacity.

NRPH says it will instead begin to shift resources to deliver booster doses, while case management and contact tracing will be increasingly handed over to artificial intelligence tools and outsourced support. 

It says it will use a combination of communication methods to notify individuals they have tested positive for COVID-19. This will come from an unrecognized number or a text message.