We have a team of staff who are helping with the national effort to tackle Covid-19 by working for the Test, Trace, and Protect team.
One member of our team is Morgan Thomas, he normally works as Events Officer at Tŷ Pawb and he tells of his experience below of being a Contact Tracer below:
“In late May I was asked to work as part of a team of Contact Tracers within the NHS Wales Test, Trace and Protect service. Due to the restrictions imposed on the entertainment industry, I was redeployed from my usual role as the Events Officer at Tŷ Pawb into a brand new initiative to trace local cases and potential outbreaks of Covid-19.
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I was keen to support this critical service as the introduction of a contact tracing system is the key to protecting the people of Wrexham from the impact of Covid-19. The service is also vital in encouraging the local community to visit the area’s shops, attractions and hospitality venues safely once lockdown measures have been lifted – something I am passionate about having worked in a market, arts and community venue like Tŷ Pawb.
People testing positive are allocated a Contact Tracer
In communication with Public Health Wales, the Council are made aware on a daily basis of individuals within the Borough who have tested positive for Covid-19. These cases are then allocated to a Contact Tracer like myself, whose job is to contact them via telephone and interview them about their symptoms, to find out the exact period when the person may have been infectious.
We provide advice surrounding the timescale of their self-isolation period based on when their symptoms began and provide general advice on hygiene and preventing further spread of the virus. In the second part of the phone call we ask the person to think about places they may have been and people they may have been exposed to during their infectious period, including any members of their household. We record these contacts and make notes/flag any cases where there appears to be a location trend or cluster forming.
All traced contacts are then allocated to a Contact Advisor who will check that the contacts are well, able to self-isolate and provide any advice to them should they become symptomatic.
Having had limited experience in working in this type of environment there have been a few difficult conversations and times I have felt a little daunted, but the whole team, who were all new to this role and have had to adapt very quickly, have been great to work with.
Each day is different, and you never really know what to expect, but the majority of people are pleased to provide the relevant information and relieved to receive advice from us. I’m glad I have been able to work in this interesting role as over the past few months, I’ve really felt we are making a difference in what we are doing, and that sense of protecting the community has been extremely rewarding.”
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