Page last updated 9 May 2020
Contact tracing is a vital part of our fight against COVID-19. Effective contact tracing helps to prevent potential onward transmission, raise awareness about the disease and its symptoms and supports early detection of suspected cases.
A comprehensive contact tracing system allows the Ministry of Health to ensure rapid identification and isolation of new cases.
Ensuring robust contact tracing is a priority piece of work for the Ministry, which will ensure the system is operational for when the alert level moves from Level 4 to Level 3, with ongoing enhancement and refinement to deliver a quality service.
The Ministry of Health commissioned Dr Ayesha Verrall to undertake a rapid review of the health sector’s strengthened approach to contact tracing for COVID-19 cases.
This report summarises Dr Verrall's findings and makes recommendations for improvements to contact tracing to control Covid-19 in New Zealand.
Follow-up from Dr Ayesha Verrall
Following the initial report, on 2 May 2020, Dr Ayesha Verrall wrote to Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield to review and provide further advice on the revised Contact Tracing indicators. Dr Bloomfield has responded to Dr Verrall's indicator review. These two documents can be viewed below.