Private companies can provide specialized capabilities around the use of technology to support contact tracing.
Private healthcare organizations and employers can play an important role in contact tracing (and testing). For example, private health systems can commit to track patients and report positive tests.
Heath networks, academics, and affiliates can provide technical guidance and training. The private sector could also have a role in supporting people in isolation and quarantine.Contact tracing efforts must always comply with local regulations and guidelines of health authorities, given privacy and transmission risk concerns.
2. Legal authority over isolation and quarantineWork with lawyers to understand which officials have the legal authority to impose mandatory quarantine or isolation and under what conditions. States and cities may have different approaches. Confirm which authority has jurisdiction to issue an order depending on where the case or contact is found, resides, or need to be isolated/quarantined.
If contact tracers lack authority to issue mandatory quarantine or isolation orders, there should be provisions to refer appropriate civil authorities to issue formal orders to cases and contacts who refuse voluntary requests.
If a person is found violating voluntary requests or mandatory orders, a stepwise procedure can be used that escalates social support to the person (for example: escalating from an SMS message to a phone call from health department staff to understand and troubleshoot issues that may be preventing that person from complying).
Measures should be applied equally across all sub-groups in the population and ensure that they are not biased or overused.
There should be clear communications about how measures are monitored and enforced.Measures should be proportionate to the offense and the least restrictive necessary to ensure compliance.