Austin Public Health Redefines 'Close Contact' Amid Coronavirus

AUSTIN, TX — In an effort to further mitigate spread of the coronavirus, Austin Public Health officials have announced a clarification of the term "close contact" as redefined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Also on Thursday, health district officials warned residents about potential scammers posing as Austin Public Health employees.

On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced a clarification to the definition of a “close contact” to include someone who was within six feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of at least 15 minutes across 24 hours. Under the updated definition, a person could be exposed three separate times for five minutes each for a cumulative of 15 minutes, rather than only including single exposures of 15 minutes or more, health district officials explained.

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Austin Public Health officials stressed the CDC announcement does not change case investigators' efforts. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin Public Health has included close contacts who were exposed for a cumulative total of at least 15 minutes in contact tracing, officials added.

“Our staff at Austin Public Health is making every effort to get information from those who tested positive for COVID-19 to identify close contact and quickly get them into quarantine,” Austin Public Health Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette said in a prepared statement. “But we can’t do this alone. We need community cooperation and understanding to reduce disease transmission.”

Austin Public Health officials said that if residents know someone the agency notifies as being in close contact of a COVID-19 case, they must quarantine for 14 days after their last contact with that person. During the 14-day quarantine, residents should watch for symptoms such as a fever, cough or headache, among others. Those developing symptoms should seek testing, health district officials added.

However, health district officials added, one cannot test one's way out of quarantine. Those tested during your 14-day quarantine period with the test returning negative, must still complete the remainder of the 14 days in case the virus is still in its incubation period, officials said.

“We’re at a point in our response where we are beginning to see another increase in cases,” Pichette added. “As cases go up, it is going to be even more important for people to follow public health prevention measures and abide by quarantine and isolation practices.”

Potential Scammers

As a reminder, Austin Public Health remind that case investigators will never ask for Social Security, Medicaid, insurance, immigration or financial information when making contact. Those who believe they received a scam call should request the person's name, title and call back number to verify the veracity of information with the City of Austin by calling 311 to ask for that person.

For more details, visit the COVID-19 Information portal of the City of Austin website.