Covid-19: Why test and trace will fail without support for self-isolation

Dear Editor,
It was very gratifying to see the recognition of San Francisco's effort to help people isolate with Right to Recover. It is also worth noting that, even before R to R, San Francisco recognized that the hardest hit populations in our city were those who were already living in poorer communities and were medically underserved. San Francisco's case investigation and contact tracing team in the Department of Public Health incorporated a team that provided support to those being asked to isolate in the form of food, cleaning supplies, medication delivery, and crisis counseling and information about rent relief. A team of clinicians also answered the questions of anxious cases and contacts. The city dedicated many of its hotels to allow individuals who needed to isolate (or be isolated from those with Covid-19) could live and receive meals for their entire isolation or quarantine period at no cost to the individual, Although not spared from the disease or deaths, San Francisco has had one of the lowest test positivity rate, and currently has the lowest death rate of any city in the US.