UNT Health Science Center will provide coronavirus contact tracing for Tarrant County
In an effort to increase Tarrant County’s fight against coronavirus, the county and the University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth struck a $1.9 million partnership to perform contract tracing.
County commissioners approved the contract on Tuesday with the funding coming from the CARES Act. The health science center will provide 90 students to work part-time.
The county had reported 38,476 COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday morning. Vinny Taneja, county public health director, said Tuesday the county’s epidemic curve continues to trend downward.
Contact tracing allows the county to identify others who may have been exposed to the virus so they can take steps to self-isolate, monitor their health and inform close contacts about potential risks.
Students are expected to begin Sept. 1 and work through Dec. 30, when the contract ends.
This story was originally published August 19, 2020 at 1:15 PM.
