The Pima County Health department will work with Maximus Health Services Inc. to increase local COVID-19 contact-tracing efforts. The county chose Maximus for a six-month, $10 million contract, with options to extend as needed.
In a release, the county said this will dramatically improve its ability to contact and inform people about COVID-19 exposure so they can self-isolate and limit the disease spread.
Pima County Health Director Theresa Cullen spoke about it at Tuesday's supervisors meeting.
"While the virus is in an accelerated transmission phase, I would say that we're in an accelerated response phase. And our real goal is to overcome the virus and the impact of that on our community," Cullen said.
Maximus will hire at least 150 people initially, from Pima County, which Cullen said is desinged not only to keep jobs local but to "capitalize on the sense of community and diversity that the people of Pima County bring to the table." Work will begin immediately, and jobs will be posted soon.
As contact tracing efforts expand, Cullen said the public should be ready to answer their phone, follow guidance from health officials and be prepared to stay home and monitor their symptoms for signs of infection if they've been exposed to the new coronavirus.
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