La Crosse County Health Department finds contact tracing averts higher case count, hospitalizations, and the economy

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) – While many counties in our region are behind on contact tracing, the La Crosse County Health Department has been working hard to call as many potentially exposed people as possible.
These efforts have come as not just a help to the close contacts, but have a ripple effect on the community.
According to health department officials, through contact tracing, the department has averted 1,171 new COVID cases, 37 hospitalizations, 6 deaths, somewhere between 9,000-11,000 close contacts, and saved the local economy and healthcare almost $8.5 million.

“Answer the phone and engage when we call you, because it doesn’t just help you and your family and friends, it helps our community as a whole to stay functional,” said Jacquie Cutts, of the La Crosse Health Department.

Cutts says the data collected is conservative, and shows how much contact tracing is actually benefitting the residents of La Crosse County.

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