Hamilton COVID contact tracers increasingly on receiving end of verbal abuse, city manager says

A city manager who oversees contact tracing says residents' verbal abuse of her staff has been on the rise in recent months.

She chalks it up to COVID fatigue.

People are tired of COVID," said Sharalyn Penner-Cloutier, acting manager of COVID case management and contact tracing with the City of Hamilton. Specifically, they're tired of being told what they can't do as a result of it.

Penner-Cloutier's staff are the people responsible for calling residents to tell them they've been exposed to COVID and to self-isolate for up to two weeks from the date of exposure.

It's not a phone call that anybody wants to receive," she said.

Contact tracers have little sense of how the person they're calling will respond. They don't know the personal circumstances of the person they're calling. But they know they're breaking bad news. Over and over again.

The calls can elicit emotional responses," Penner-Cloutier said.

Some people worry about missing work or not being able to care for older relatives. Some flat-out refuse to self-isolate.

Penner-Cloutier said her team does a fantastic job" of listening to residents' concerns, trying to offer support and information. They understand people are tired. They're tired too, she said.

Asked what the public health does when people refuse to comply with contact tracers' direction, Penner-Cloutier says: If we receive a complaint about a case or contact who is not isolating/quarantining, we first confirm that they are still required to be in isolation and then followup directly with the case or contact to discuss the situation."

Penner-Cloutier adds that plenty of people are respectful. They're grateful to have a knowledgeable person on the phone who can answer their questions, she said.

Insider knowledge

Her staff are in the unique position of knowing the whole truth of how people are - or aren't - abiding by public health orders and guidance.

So did Hamiltonians really stay at home during the stay-at-home order?

For the most part, yes - it seems.

Penner-Cloutier said her staff definitively" saw an decrease in close contacts when the order was in effect.

But people make their own choices," she said.

We are grateful ... when people are being honest, because it helps in our process as well," she said. They're telling us, Oh, you know, I know I'm not supposed to visit a friend but I did.'"

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com