Newsom Launches Statewide Contact Tracing Program and Public Awareness Campaign

Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced the launch of “California Connected,” the state’s contact tracing program and public awareness campaign. As part of the new initiative, public health workers throughout the state will connect with individuals who test positive for COVID-19 to ensure individuals and their potential contacts have access to confidential testing, medical care, and other services to prevent the further spread of COVID-19. Recall, the state’s contact tracing training program is a partnership between the Administration, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The Administration notes that over 500 contact tracers have been trained under the new program and an additional 300 have been trained this week.

The California Connected public awareness campaign has been launched to deliver radio advertisements, billboards, and social media posts and videos in multiple languages encouraging participation and engagement with contact tracers. The public awareness campaign is being supported by a total of $5.1 million in funding and in-kind resources from Jeff Skoll and his organizations, the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF), The California Endowment, Twitter, and Facebook, in addition to existing media partners engaged in the state’s broader public awareness efforts.

The CaliforniaConnected.ca.gov website is now live. A public service announcement from California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Director Dr. Sonia Angell is available here and California Connected public service announcements are also available in English and Spanish. Additional content, including an infographic, is available here. The full announcement from the Newsom Administration is available here.