Contact Tracing Load Calculator

Work out contact tracing load instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Contact Tracing Load Calculator

Multiplies daily cases by contacts per case and divides by tracer capacity to give the workforce needed to keep tracing current.

Formula

Tracing workforce

Daily contacts = new cases per day x contacts per case; tracers = daily contacts / contacts per tracer per day

Worked example

With the default values below, Contact Tracing Load Calculator returns Contact tracers required of 40.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

New cases per dayaccepts 1–100,000: 50
Contacts per caseaccepts 1–100: 8
Contacts a tracer can handle per dayaccepts 1–100: 10

Results

Contact tracers required: 40.0
Contacts to trace per day: 400
Contacts to trace per week: 2,800
Tracers to roster: 40

Step by step

1Values used
2Tracing workforce
3Contact tracers required= 40.0
4Contacts to trace per day= 400
5Contacts to trace per week= 2,800
6Tracers to roster= 40

Assumptions and limits

The result is derived only from the 3 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if capacity is exceeded?

Tracing delays lengthen, and tracing loses effectiveness rapidly once contacts are reached after they become infectious.

How fast must tracing be?

Within 48 to 72 hours of the index case's symptom onset for most respiratory infections.