Contact tracing for COVID-19

Countries should follow the latest ECDC contact tracing guidance.
To find out more, please take the e-learning course ‘Contact tracing in the context of COVID-19 response’.
Contact tracing in relation to Omicron
The Omicron variant of concern is rapidly becoming the dominant variant of SARS-CoV-2 in the EU/EEA. Considering its rapid spread, ECDC has provided (suboptimal) options for adapting quarantine and isolation, particularly when countries face high or extreme pressure on healthcare systems and other functions in society, including essential services. The available scientific evidence to support changes to the existing quarantine and isolation guidance is currently limited, and they imply a residual risk of transmission.
Principles of contact tracing
The aim of identifying and managing the contacts of COVID-19 cases is to support early diagnosis and interrupt onward transmission by rapidly identifying and managing any secondary cases that may arise following transmission from primary cases. This is achieved by:
- promptly identifying the contacts of a COVID-19 case;
- providing contacts with information on self-quarantine, proper hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette, and advice on what to do if they develop symptoms;
- testing all contacts who have had high-risk exposure to COVID-19 cases, whether or not they are symptomatic, as soon as possible after they have been identified, to allow for further contact tracing;
- testing all contacts who have had low-risk exposure to COVID-19 cases in settings where transmission is likely and/or the population is vulnerable to severe COVID-19;
- testing all contacts that become symptomatic.
Contact tracing is a key tool for breaking transmission chains. For countries with high transmission, contact tracing will complement other measures, such as physical distancing, and help reduce transmission. For countries with lower levels of transmission, contact tracing is the key to outbreak management and control of transmission.
For contact tracing to be effective it needs to be prompt. This includes testing cases as soon as possible after symptom onset – which requires a high level of public awareness and easy access to testing. Test turnaround time should be minimised, and contacts traced as soon as possible after a positive result. While awaiting the results of their test, those who are symptomatic can be encouraged to inform their close contacts and suggest to them that they adhere to physical distancing measures until the result is known.
Additional information on different settings can be found below.
Monitoring
ECDC and WHO encourage countries to monitor the effectiveness of their contact tracing operations in order to identify where coverage or timeliness needs to be improved (See ECDC’s publication Monitoring and evaluation framework for COVID-19 response activities in the EU/EEA and the UK). To learn more about the transmissibility and characteristics of VOCs, countries are encouraged to collect and analyse contact tracing data from these cases and to share findings with ECDC, WHO and other EU/EEA countries.
Data collection
This reporting protocol describes the collection of data regarding contact tracing. The data collection aims to help assess the effectiveness and efficiency of contact tracing operations, to provide information on transmission of SARS-CoV-2, and to provide contextual information on the progression of the pandemic to tailor response measures.
Mobile apps
Countries using mobile apps for contact tracing are also encouraged to refer to ECDC’s guidance on mobile apps in support of contact tracing and to monitor their effectiveness using the joint WHO-ECDC indicator framework.
With regard to VOCs, countries are encouraged to monitor the number of contacts testing positive of those notified, or apply similar measures in order to understand whether the parameter settings need calibration – e.g. due to a more transmissible variant. ECDC’s guidance on mobile apps has further details on evaluating and calibrating settings.
International collaboration
When contact tracing investigations identify contacts or a potential source in another country, public health authorities should collaborate across borders and exchange data in a secure way (through, for example, the selective exchange messaging function of the Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) of the European Union or share data using the European Digital Passenger Locator Form).
Passenger Locator Forms
On 27 May 2021, the European Commission published the Implementing Decision 2021/858 outlining the function of the digital Passenger Locator Form (dPLF) in the EU/EEA.
Additional documents on contact tracing, including those related to special settings or populations
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Title and link to document |
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Latest ECDC outputs |
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ECDC contact tracing guidance |
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Contact tracing resources |
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Variants of Concern |
Latest rapid risk assessment relating to variants: Assessment of the further emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron VOC in the context of the ongoing Delta VOC transmission in the EU/EEA, 18th update
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Vaccination |
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Mobile apps |
Mobile applications in support of contact tracing for COVID-19 - A guidance for EU EEA Member States |
Monitoring framework |
Monitoring and evaluation framework for COVID-19 response activities in the EU/EEA and the UK |
Rapid risk assessments |
Full list of rapid risk assessments (each with a section on contact tracing) |
E-learning course |
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Special setting/population |
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Travel |
Considerations for travel-related measures to reduce spread of COVID-19 in the EU/EEA |
Prisons |
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Schools |
COVID-19 in children and the role of school settings in transmission |
Air travel |
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Migrants |
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Cruise ships |