Feb 25
2021
Why People Are Missing Contact Tracer Calls On Mobile Phones
As most of us would agree, modern smartphones have become hugely useful when it comes to providing us with increased ease and convenience. You can now do so much on your phone, from browsing and making purchases online to taking videos and photos, accessing social media, download and using a huge range of apps, and more.
Mobiles have also proven very useful in terms of helping to battle the ongoing global pandemic, as it means that people can go online with ease to check information, make arrangements for testing, get updates on the virus, and receive calls from contact tracers if they have been exposed or infected. When it comes to the latter, contact tracers often use mobiles to try to get in touch with those who have been diagnosed with COVID as well as those who have been exposed via contact with infected people.
Not Always Successful
As our infographic shows, contact tracers are not always successful in contacting people on mobiles, and this is for a range of reasons. While they do try to call three times, their calls can still go unanswered, and this means that they are unable to get or provide the information they need to with regard to exposed contacts.
One of the main reasons why people miss or purposely ignore calls from contact tracers is because they come from unknown phone numbers. The vast majority of Americans do not answer calls from unknown numbers on their mobiles, as they often assume that they are cold callers or nuisance calls. This can cause a huge issue for contact tracers and hampers the fight against the pandemic.
Another reason why people may not receive calls from contact tracers on their mobiles is that they have changed their number recently or they might even have lost their phone. Many people lose their mobile or have them stolen, which is another issue for contact tracers who are trying to get hold of those who are infected or may have been exposed.
There is also another serious issue that affects the willingness of people to answer unknown calls, and this is the number of phone scams doing the rounds. There are even scammers that pretend to be contact tracers, and this naturally makes people wary of answering unknown calls. As a result, when genuine contact callers try to get in touch, many people do not answer the call on purpose and never investigate to find out who was actually trying to call.
One of the things that can help in these circumstances is to use a tool such as reverse phone tools. This can help you to determine who is calling from the unknown number rather than just assuming that it is an unwanted caller or scammer. It will also make it easier for you to identify scam calls from those pretending to be contact tracers.
As you can see, there are various reasons why people miss contact tracing calls, and this can have a huge negative impact on reducing the spread of COVID.