Which action was part of the containment phase of the U.S. public health response to SARS-CoV-2?

During the containment phase of the U.S. public health response to SARS-CoV-2, contact tracing was a crucial action taken to track the spread of the virus. This process involves identifying individuals who have been in close contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19 and advising them to quarantine or get tested. The goal of contact tracing is to interrupt transmission chains and prevent further spread within communities.

By effectively utilizing contact tracing, public health officials could gather important epidemiological information, which would assist in understanding how the virus was spreading and provide guidance on implementing other preventive measures. Engaging in contact tracing allowed for targeted interventions, keeping more extensive community measures to a minimum and promoting a more controlled response to the outbreak.

Other strategies employed during the response, such as social distancing, stay-at-home orders, and mandating universal facemasks for healthcare workers, served more as broader public health measures rather than specific actions in the containment phase aimed directly at tracking and isolating cases. These strategies were often implemented alongside contact tracing but were not specific to the core function of containment.