Executive Summary:
Recommendations for Action
• Contact tracing may help limit COVID-19 transmission when the first cases are identified within a country but can be very resource intensive.
It is likely not to be feasible when community transmission is occurring and cases outside known transmission chains increase greatly.
• Member States are advised to use the characteristics of the epidemic in their country to decide when and how to do contact tracing (see Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Recommendations for Stepwise Response to COVID-191 ). Different parts of a country may be in different phases at the same time. – In Epidemic Phases 1–2 (imported cases and cases in known transmission chains): trace all contacts defined as all persons who have been within one metre of a confirmed case for 15 minutes at any time from two days before symptoms started to the time symptoms resolved. – In Epidemic Phases 3–4 (community transmission, cases outside known transmission chains): halt contact tracing in all outbreak areas; perform contact tracing only in areas reporting first cases or high-risk settings.
• Introduce and sensitise the population to the concepts of contact tracing, home quarantine for contacts and home isolation for mild and moderate cases, as early as possible, even before cases are reported.
• Use home quarantine for contacts in preference to facility quarantine, based on acceptability, feasibility, ethics, and resources.
• Ensure that people in home quarantine have adequate supply of basic needs, either through government or community support.
• If using facility-based quarantine, ensure a safe and healthy environment, including food, water, hygiene, sleep, infection prevention, medical care, and respect for the rights and dignity of persons.
• Only test contacts for SARS-CoV2 if they are symptomatic; contacts without symptoms should not be tested.2