The number of infections is increasing: 35 employees of the health department are currently busy identifying contact persons.
District
- Just one phone call can currently turn everyday life upside down.
Due to the increasing infections with the corona virus, the number of contact persons in the district is also skyrocketing.
And every infected person also means a lot of work for the health department.
Every day, employees of the municipalities and the health department pick up the phone and inform contact persons about their situation.
You must not be sensitive, because the person you are talking to does not always react understandingly.
For many, a 14-day quarantine is a horror idea.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in spring, the Unterhaching community has been organizing contact person management itself. “There are currently two and a half service members on the team,” explains town hall spokesman Simon Hötzl.
"If necessary, we call in colleagues." For two weeks now, two employees of the health department have also been helping the community to identify and inform contact persons.
A great help, but everyday things are left behind or postponed when there is a high incidence of infections.
“Work is progressing more slowly in the individual departments,” explains Hötzl.
In contrast to March, the effort per contact person has increased.
“We don't just have to inform the people,” says the town hall spokesman, who is himself part of the contact person management.
In addition to the discussions, the employees enter the data in the health department's support software.
"You are already there with 30 minutes per person," says Hötzl.
Simon Hötzl: "Last week we had a case with 67 contacts"
As a rule, every infected person has contact with two to three other citizens.
But there are exceptions.
"Last week we had a case with 67 contacts," says Simon Hötzl.
Calling around for hours and processing information.
The number of contact persons also varies in the municipality of Haar.
"That depends on how many contacts the infected person has in everyday life," explains a town hall employee.
About ten community employees - on call - look after the contact person identification.
There are also two support workers from the health department.
Those in charge are not only on duty Monday through Friday, but also on weekends.
“On a Sunday a colleague worked until 9 p.m.”, recalls Hötzl.
Despite the tremendous performance, community workers are not always greeted warmly on the phone.
"Sometimes you encounter gross misunderstanding," says Hötzl.
“We then try to pick up people, but we don't always succeed.” The 14-day quarantine that a Category 1 contact person (see box) has to spend at home is a fundamental limitation for many citizens.
"This is a big turning point in private and often also professional life," says a town hall employee from Haar, who does not want to read her name in the newspaper.
The biggest problem with credibility, however, is that the health authorities in the state capital and in the district react differently, says Hötzl.
In most cases, however, the people contacted show understanding.
35 employees for contact person management
However, it can often take several days for citizens to receive a call.
"We can only start identifying the contact person once the infected person is registered in the health department's system," explains Hötzl.
"That sometimes takes time." According to the district office, 35 employees are currently responsible for contact person management, 20 more than in March.
Among other things, they also take care of the communities of Sauerlach, Graefelfing and, for about three weeks, Taufkirchen.
The municipality recently passed the contact identification to the health department.
"The tasks have become much more complex, and that takes an incredible amount of time," says town hall employee Florian Müller.
The number of people infected with corona in the Munich district is increasing rapidly. All information is available here in the ticker.
