Whatcom County, state struggle with contact tracing as COVID-19 cases surge

A key strategy in fighting the spread of COVID-19 is reaching people early who have been infected and then contacting anyone they might have subsequently infected.

The processes are called case investigation (the process of reaching someone who is infected) and contact tracing (reaching people who might have been exposed to the infected person). Local health agencies across Washington, as well as the state Department of Health, have been using those processes since spring when the coronavirus began its march across the state.