Contact Tracing - Background
An initial team of 250 individuals with medical backgrounds was needed for the Contact Tracing Centre, working in two daily shifts, seven days a week. These individuals had to handle challenging calls from people unaware of their close contact with COVID-positive individuals.
As virus cases increased, the selection criteria evolved: registered nurses were reassigned, those sharing a home with front-line workers were stood down, and new criteria for suitability to work in NCCS were added to the recruitment process. The required number of staff varied daily.
An alliance was formed with Peter Crestani and the teams from Capital Recruitment and Frog to help the Ministry of Health recruit both on-site and remote contact tracers. The teams worked around the clock for 13 days to fill these roles, with 1,000 people needed for the remote national workforce in case of widespread community transmission.