COVID-19 contact tracing: The Welsh experience

Contact tracing is one of the key public health response actions to control the outbreak of a novel virus. This paper describes the preparation process, activation and operational experience for contact tracing of individuals in response to confirmed COVID-19 cases in Wales.

A descriptive approach has been adopted and lessons learned from our initial public health response to COVID-19 will be used to develop a new operational model for contact tracing in Wales.

As part of preparations for the response in Wales, Public Health Wales formed a Contact Tracing Cell (CTC) ready to be mobilised in the event of a confirmed case.

Trial activation of the CTC during the preparation period helped to resolve some issues before 'real' activation. A highly flexible approach was needed due to the constant changes to the guidance that required rapid understanding, updates to pathways and clear communication to contact tracers.

Our experience and recommendations may benefit future efforts to control the spread of the virus in Wales and elsewhere, particularly in supporting COVID-19 outbreaks in enclosed settings such as care homes or in geographically localised areas. Learning from the initial public health response to COVID-19 will guide the delivery and implementation of a new contact tracing model as we move to a later stage of the pandemic when containment measures become feasible in localised outbreaks. This may include scaling-up the CTC to mobilise contact tracers to local teams and the potential use of digital technologies to support the next operational model of the CTC in Wales.