Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, surges in case counts have strained public health resources. Maintaining comprehensive case and contact management, including rapid isolation of cases and their close contacts, required York Region Public Health to develop and implement innovative strategies to avoid disrupting core outbreak management work.
Detailed operational-level analysis of data obtained from the provincial Case and Contact Management solution, coupled with continuous improvement of existing processes allowed the health unit to implement a robust case prioritization model through the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This model supported effective case and contact management practices. This presentation outlines the analyses completed to develop the case prioritization model, strategies used in its implementation and the lessons learned. The information offers other health units support for developing local response strategies for surges of COVID-19 cases.
Intended audience: Case Investigators, operational managers, public health professionals focused on planning and quality improvement, Medical Officers of Health and Associate Medical Officers of Health