Johns Hopkins offering free class in how to become a contact tracer

An online course being offered by Johns Hopkins University teaches enrolled students how to become contact tracers for free, filling a need by states across the country for trained professionals who can help identify COVID-19 victims and those they have come into contact with.

ABC News first reported the online course, which began Monday and is taught by Emily Gurley, an associate scientist with the university.

“In this introductory course, students will learn about the science of SARS-CoV-2 , including the infectious period, the clinical presentation of COVID-19, and the evidence for how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person-to-person and why contact tracing can be such an effective public health intervention,” reads the course description. “Students will learn about how contact tracing is done, including how to build rapport with cases, identify their contacts, and support both cases and their contacts to stop transmission in their communities.”

The one-week course is divided in to five one-hour sessions, culminating in a final graded exam. 

States across the country are on course to utilize thousands of paid employees or volunteers as contact tracers in upcoming weeks as officials implement further efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus in the U.S. Some lawmakers including Rep. Andy Levin (D-Mich.) have called for a national contact tracing program to be established.

“Establishing a nationwide contact tracing program is the only way we can truly know the progress we’ve made in containing the virus, and how far we have left to go before we can transition back to normal life,” he told The Hill.