THIS ALL WORK? WHERE CAN YOU SIGN UP? PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS 4 REPORTER JIM MADALINKSY HAS THE ANSWER JIM: FOR A STATE JOB, THE APPLICATION PROCESS ISN’T ALL THAT DIFFICULT TURNS OUT YOU CAN APPLY RIGHT FROM YOUR PHONE. THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA IS HIRING. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH IS LOOKING TO BRING IN 1000 ADDITIONAL CONTACT TRACERS STATEWIDE, MORE THAN DOUBLE THE CURRENT NUMBER OF PEOPLE TASKED WITH WHAT HEALTH OFFICIALS HAVE CALLED A CRITICAL ROLE IN NAVIGATING THIS PANDEMIC. CONTACT TRACERS ARE IN CHARGE OF CONTACTING PEOPLE WHO TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19, GATHERING INFORMATION, AND NOTIFYING OTHERS THAT MAY HAVE HAD DIRECT CONTACT WITH THE PERSON WHO TESTED POSITIVE. HERE’S HOW IT WORKS. YOU JUST LOG ON TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH’S WEBSITE. YOU’LL NEED TO REGISTER THROUGH SERV-PA, THE STATE’S EMERGENCY REGISTRY OF VOLUNTEERS AS FOR THE APPLICATION PROCESS, IT ASKS FOR YOUR INFORMATION AND TWO SIMPLE QUESTIONS. YOUR CURRENT OR FORMER OCCUPATION AND WHETHER YOU’VE BEEN CONVICTED OF A CRIME. ACCORDING TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, THESE JOBS WILL RANGE FROM 18 TO $24 AN HOUR AND THE FOCUS WILL BE ON HIRING THOSE LAID OFF DURING THE PANDEMIC THE STATE HAS PARTNERED WITH AN ATLANTA-BASED STAFFING AGENCY HELP WITH THE HIRING PROCESS IF YOU’RE INTERESTED IN ONE OF THESE JOBS, WE’VE POSTED EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ON THE WTAE MOBILE
Pennsylvania to hire 1,000 more coronavirus contact tracers
Updated: 7:38 PM EDT Jul 31, 2020
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is hiring 1,000 additional contract tracers to bolster the state’s efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks by quickly notifying people who might have been exposed.The Health Department on Friday announced a $23 million, federally funded contract with Atlanta-based staffing agency Insight Global to recruit, hire and train the new workers, who will join the state’s existing contact-tracing force of more than 650.The new jobs include full-time and part-time contact tracers and supervisors, with hourly rates ranging from $18 to $24. The Health Department said recruitment will be focused on workers who have been laid off because of the pandemic.Contact tracers identify people whom COVID-19 patients have been in contact with so they can be tested and isolated.The Health Department has also said it is seeking to test out a mobile contact-tracing app that automatically notifies people if they might have been exposed to the virus. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus.In other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania on Friday:___CASESThe Health Department said 970 more people have tested positive for the virus, with 13 new deaths.The new case numbers include an increase of 244 in Allegheny County, though 30 of those are from tests conducted more than two weeks ago, health officials said. Philadelphia reported 130 new infections.The seven-day daily average of new cases rose by about two-thirds in the month of July, according to the COVID Tracking Project, driven primarily by increased spread in counties in the southern half of the state.Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 112,000 people have tested positive for the virus, and 7,189 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. More than two-thirds of the state’s deaths have occurred in nursing homes and other facilities that care for older people.The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) —
The Pennsylvania Department of Health is hiring 1,000 additional contract tracers to bolster the state’s efforts to contain coronavirus outbreaks by quickly notifying people who might have been exposed.
The Health Department on Friday announced a $23 million, federally funded contract with Atlanta-based staffing agency Insight Global to recruit, hire and train the new workers, who will join the state’s existing contact-tracing force of more than 650.
The new jobs include full-time and part-time contact tracers and supervisors, with hourly rates ranging from $18 to $24. The Health Department said recruitment will be focused on workers who have been laid off because of the pandemic.
Contact tracers identify people whom COVID-19 patients have been in contact with so they can be tested and isolated.
The Health Department has also said it is seeking to test out a mobile contact-tracing app that automatically notifies people if they might have been exposed to the virus. It relies on Bluetooth wireless technology to detect when someone who downloaded the app has spent time near another app user who later tests positive for the virus.
In other coronavirus-related developments in Pennsylvania on Friday:
___
CASES
The Health Department said 970 more people have tested positive for the virus, with 13 new deaths.
The new case numbers include an increase of 244 in Allegheny County, though 30 of those are from tests conducted more than two weeks ago, health officials said. Philadelphia reported 130 new infections.
The seven-day daily average of new cases rose by about two-thirds in the month of July, according to the COVID Tracking Project, driven primarily by increased spread in counties in the southern half of the state.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 112,000 people have tested positive for the virus, and 7,189 deaths have been attributed to COVID-19. More than two-thirds of the state’s deaths have occurred in nursing homes and other facilities that care for older people.
The number of infections is thought to be far higher than the state’s confirmed case count because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in a couple of weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are at higher risk of more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.