ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County is looking to hire 100 more contact tracers to help meet the demand of more positive COVID-19 tests in the area.
The health department hopes to hire people who have recently lost their job, and can begin working immediately.
"Tracing works as long as you can handle the number of cases. When you get to these numbers, it doesn't work," Orange County health officer Dr. Raul Pino said, adding that fewer than 300 new cases a day would be manageable for his current staff.
Read: Central Florida health departments hiring more contact tracers as COVID-19 cases climb
Orange County is no longer doing contact tracing on every person who tests positive for COVID-19, the health department said.
The health department said with huge delays in test results, and such a high volume of patients, the job has become impossible.
The department has about 40 contact tracers as of now. But on Wednesday, there were nearly 700 new cases.
The spread of Covid-19 is so out of control in Orange County, the DOH can no longer keep up with contact tracing. They say under 300 cases a day would be manageable but these are this month's numbers. Why they're only tracing three groups of people right now on @WFTV at 5pm. pic.twitter.com/XY3P0r2H33
— Lauren Seabrook (@LSeabrookWFTV) July 22, 2020
Bars were shutdown in Florida when contact tracers identified them as hotspots for COVID-19 transmission.
Pino said Orange County is only tracing people in assisted living facilities, health care workers and first responders.
He said they’re also hiring registered nurses and LPNs.
The positions include benefits and pay between $13 and $23 an hour, depending on the qualifications and job duties. Click here to apply.
Orange County recently received about $5 million from the state and county to make the hires. Those interested can start applying through the Department of Health’s website now.
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