3 Ways COVID-19 Tracing May Affect C-Stores

BALTIMORE — As states struggle with the challenge of opening back up their economies after several weeks of battling the coronavirus pandemic, two health professionals recently outlined the requirements of what could be a popular safety precaution: contact tracing.

In an April 30 webinar on the topic, Crystal Watson, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health and Safety within the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, and Emily Gurley, associate scientist at the same facility, described the process. Much in the way public health officials track other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV, healthcare workers tracking the virus identify infected individuals, provide them with resources to survive their illness and ask questions about whom they have come in contact with.

In describing what was involved in contact tracing, the two speakers revealed areas that could overlap with the business of running c-stores …

Like many other businesses managing the pandemic, operators will have employees diagnosed with the coronavirus and others who have been in contact with infected individuals. All of these people will need support, Gurley said, especially if they undergo quarantine.

Employers, such as c-store operators, should consider what that means for their workforce, because individuals may have to be away from work for up to 14 days, Gurley said. It also means support in terms of access to food and healthcare, she said.

“It’s not trivial,” Gurley said.

Part of contact tracing as an effective tool is building the workforce that goes into the field to interview subjects. When Gurley spoke of the type of worker needed, she seemed to describe the very qualities that c-store retailers want in front-line employees: friendliness, being people-oriented and having the ability to build rapport with others.

“They’re good at talking to people, gaining trust and letting people know it’s about their well-being,” Gurley said. “They’ll need good people skills to be effective.”

While the need for contact tracers may not directly affect the c-store workforce, it may put a premium on individuals with those innate traits.

With tracers asking people questions about whom they have been in contact with, the issue of privacy will emerge. As c-store retailers with loyalty programs are aware, privacy is a topic with both legal and brand-perception consequences.

As contact tracing becomes more prevalent, the issue of privacy may rise in importance as a matter of public dialogue, Watson said. “Tracing is done every day,” she said, advocating for communities to engage in such surveys. “The goal is to protect people and support the people who have the disease.”