The nonprofit news organization Civil Beat is reporting that Emily Roberson, PhD, the recently-hired head of contact tracing for the State Department of Health, is back on the job.
Roberson, hired in mid July, went on a leave of absence last Wednesday, saying the Department of Health needed to determine who was in charge and set a clear chain of command. U.S. Representative Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday said the problem was that State Epidemiologist Dr. Sarah Park, who used to be charged with contact tracing responsibility, was continuing to try to micromanage the process.
On Friday, State Health Department confirmed to New West Broadcasting that Park was on paid leave, effective Friday, and continuing indefinitely.
Although experts agree that contact tracing, especially once the virus has run rampant as it is in the state, is not a panacea, but it remains one of the keys to stopping the spread of the virus by trying to find out with whom COVID-19 victims have been in contact to get them tested and isolated if necessary.
For the full Civil Beat story by Eleni Avendaño, click here.
Photo is Dr. Emily Roberson at an August 19 press conference.
