Vermont will no longer do contact tracing

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont is no longer contact tracing everyone as the omicron variant spreads very quickly.

Health experts say it’s spreading so quickly that by the time they talk with a person who has tested positive and determine their infectious window, where they were and who their close contacts are, those contacts are most likely already infectious.

Now, the state says it’s up to you to alert people you have been within six feet of for 15 minutes or more.

“I’d be surprised if the CDC didn’t change the definition of close contact relatively soon given omicron, and I know many states are really stepping back from contact tracing as the primary strategy to deal with this,” said Patsy Kelso, the Vermont state epidemiologist.

Kelso says they will continue contact tracing in areas like long-term-care facilities and shelters.

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