Measuring the effectiveness of an automated text messaging active surveillance system for COVID-19 in the south of Ireland, March to April 2020.
Euro Surveill 2020;
25:2000972. [PMID:
32553064 PMCID:
PMC7403640 DOI:
10.2807/1560-7917.es.2020.25.23.2000972]
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Abstract
We report the effectiveness of automated text messaging for active surveillance of asymptomatic close contacts of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in the Cork/Kerry region of Ireland. In the first 7 weeks of the COVID-19 outbreak, 1,336 close contacts received 12,421 automated texts. Overall, 120 contacts (9.0%) reported symptoms which required referral for testing and 35 (2.6%) tested positive for COVID-19. Non-response was high (n = 2,121; 17.1%) and this required substantial clinical and administrative resources for follow-up.
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