Tulsa mayor reports issues with COVID-19 contact tracing

There’s a problem with COVID-19 contact tracing in Tulsa, according to Mayor G.T. Bynum.

The issue isn’t with the system itself, but with individuals who’ve tested positive for the Coronavirus.

“Too many of them are not cooperating with the contact tracing program at the Tulsa Health Department.” Bynum told KRMG.

Mayor Bynum said that means the health department is not as easily able to identify the leading causes of the spread of the virus.

“That makes it much harder for us to really custom tailor solutions to reduce that spread.” Bynum added.

This creates an issue for city leaders, should COVID-19 flare up and more restrictions are needed.

“We don’t want to make generalized decisions.” Bynum said.

The mayor said such generalized decisions had to be made early in the pandemic because local data simply didn’t exist yet. Local data does exist now, but Mayor Bynum said people must cooperate with contact tracing for it to be the most effective.

Cox Media Group