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. 2021 Mar;26(10):2001236.
doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.10.2001236.

COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020

Inessa Markus  1   2   3   4 , Gyde Steffen  4   5 , Raskit Lachmann  6 , Adine Marquis  7 , Timm Schneider  1 , Sara Tomczyk  8 , Uwe Koppe  5 , Anna M Rohde  8 , Susanne Barbara Schink  5 , Janna Seifried  9 , Teresa Domaszewska  10 , Ute Rexroth  1 , Maria An der Heiden  1
Affiliations

COVID-19: cross-border contact tracing in Germany, February to April 2020

Inessa Markus et al. Euro Surveill. 2021 Mar.

Abstract

IntroductionThe Robert Koch Institute (RKI) managed the exchange of cross-border contact tracing data between public health authorities (PHA) in Germany and abroad during the early COVID-19 pandemic.AimWe describe the extent of cross-border contact tracing and its challenges.MethodsWe analysed cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events from 3 February to 5 April 2020 using information exchanged through the European Early Warning Response System and communication with International Health Regulation national focal points. We described events by PHA, number of contacts and exposure context.ResultsThe RKI processed 467 events, initiating contact to PHA 1,099 times (median = 1; interquartile range (IQR): 1-2) and sharing data on 5,099 contact persons. Of 327 (70%) events with known exposure context, the most commonly reported exposures were aircraft (n = 64; 20%), cruise ships (n = 24; 7%) and non-transport contexts (n = 210; 64%). Cruise ship and aircraft exposures generated more contacts with authorities (median = 10; IQR: 2-16, median = 4; IQR: 2-11) and more contact persons (median = 60; IQR: 9-269, median = 2; IQR: 1-3) than non-transport exposures (median = 1; IQR: 1-6 and median = 1; IQR: 1-2). The median time spent on contact tracing was highest for cruise ships: 5 days (IQR: 3-9).ConclusionIn the COVID-19 pandemic, cross-border contact tracing is considered a critical component of the outbreak response. While only a minority of international contact tracing activities were related to exposure events in transport, they contributed substantially to the workload. The numerous communications highlight the need for fast and efficient global outbreak communication channels between PHA.

Keywords: Early Warning and Response System (EWRS) COVID-19; Germany; International Health Regulations; SARS-CoV-2; contact tracing; cross-broader; pandemic preparedness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: None declared.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of information in the context of contact tracing in Germany and abroad
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events and proportion of country of exposure, by week of activity start, Germany, 3 February–5 April 2020 (n = 467)
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of cross-border COVID-19 contact tracing events, by exposure context and by week of activity start, Germany, 3 February–5 April 2020 (n = 467)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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