[MUSIC]
Since we returned to a residential, on- campus living and learning environment,
we've been able to do over 400,000 COVID-19 tests of our BU community.
And the vast majority, in fact, over 99% of those tests are negative.
But in the rare instances that we have a positive case,
there is an entire team that springs into action in order to curb the transmission
of viral spread here on campus.
[SOUND] >> Hello?
Hi, I'm calling from Boston University's contact tracing.
How are you doing today?
>> We've all heard a lot about contact tracing and
how important it is at preventing the spread of COVID-19 in a community.
But what is contact tracing?
And what does it look like here at BU?
>> My name is Dillon.
I'm calling from over at Boston University contact tracing.
>> Contact tracing is reaching out to people who have tested positive for COVID and
interviewing them and getting detailed information about where they've been,
who they've been in contact with for the period of time that they were infectious.
>> And they're trying to figure out two main things.
One is, where did they get it?
And two is, who did they potentially transmit it to, or infect?
And then the contact tracers call those people to require them to quarantine.
The spread happens very quickly.
And that's why doing the contact tracing quickly and
getting people into quarantine quickly can help break that chain.
>> Some of the frustration with the pandemic is people don't feel like
they're doing enough.
They don't feel like they're involved in the response.
And when you test positive, or when you are quarantining, or when you're giving
a contact tracer information about your exposure or who you've been exposed to,
that's contributing to the pandemic response in a huge way.
If you're okay with this, I would love to now start asking you some more
specific questions about where you've been, who you were interacting with.
How did you begin your day on Tuesday?
>> You literally feel like a detective. Because I need to find out, you know,
did you also go here?
Did you do that?
So I give them prompts like, do you remember making breakfast?
Did you go outside?
Do you usually go for a run?
Did you stop somewhere for coffee?
So there are like a million questions you can ask.
>> Cause they'll--oftentimes they'll say something in passing that you'll have to
say, oh, can we just go back to you saying you were playing a game with your friend?
Well, how long was that?
How far apart were you sitting?
Did you ever turn to each other and cheer?
It's about isolating those little moments of connection and exposure.
You think this is your bubble, but this person has another bubble.
This person has another bubble.
So I think this is where I contact tracing plays an extremely crucial role.
[BACKGROUND CHATTER]
>> So Healthway is in a unique position to figure out where the transmission
of the virus is happening.
And what we're seeing is that the virus is transmitted more through small gatherings.
It's the social interaction.
It's face to face contact.
It's conversations.
It's when more people are in a room, you're talking louder.
We actually have not seen any classroom to classroom transmission.
[MUSIC]
It is so important for people to be honest with us.
So we can get it right the first time and
work really quickly to get people who need to be in quarantine in quarantine.
And what we're not doing with that information is sharing it with people that
don't need to have it.
And we're not looking to get anybody in trouble.
We're only looking to keep people safe.
Right off the bat, I would just love to ask you, how are you feeling?
How are you doing?
I think the work of contact tracing is really about empathizing with people.
When I first got the job, they described it as, like, equal parts therapist and detective.
Investigative and asking for details, but also just being a person on
the phone that someone can talk to about how they're doing and how they're feeling.
And as much as you can do to just make them feel like you are there for them.
I think it makes all the difference in the world.
>> Keeping the BU community safe directly impacts the city and the state.
BU is a porous campus, right?
So we know people are intermixing with the community all the time.
>> And that's why it's so important to think about what you're doing day to day,
as well as what we're doing at BU to keep not only BU safe but
surrounding communities safe as well.
>> Everyone wants the classroom experience and the university experience.
You're excited, you're going to college, you definitely want to come and
experience all of that.
But none of this is possible if we don't cooperate with all these public health
initiatives that BU has put in place.
As much as we want to go back to normal, it can't happen without this part.
[MUSIC]