SUDBURY -- In early December 2020, registered dietitian Tammy Cheguis got a call from her manager asking if she would be willing to assist in controlling the coronavirus pandemic in Sudbury.

Without hesitation Cheguis agreed and put her day job on the back burner to work full time as a ‘contact tracer.’

Her day now consists of sitting at her kitchen table and calling those who have tested positive for the virus, and connecting with all the people the positive person has been in close contact with.

“I’m there to provide support [..] check in on them to see how their symptoms are progressing. If they don’t have symptoms I see if they’ve developed symptoms, help them with isolation and if they need support," she said.

“It’s a long time to be not working or not visiting someone who needs your care, when you’re isolated for 10 to 14 days, so we are often, doing supportive stuff.”

As part of her day contacting the individuals who have been in close contact with the person who tested positive for the virus, Cheguis also has to call all the locations the COVID positive clients has been recently.

"Sometimes phone numbers are leading you to the wrong people. Some people can’t remember last names," continued Cheguis.

"You have to be a real investigator to actually get a hold of these people. We try to really jog peoples memories. We have all kinds of little methods to try and pull it out of them as best we can."

Cheguis said the majority of clients she has dealt with have been very understanding, but said in the end it comes down to people’s honesty.

"People are angry, they are frustrated, if they’re okay that’s great too, but I can understand it is frustrating, it is upsetting," she said.

"People are losing businesses, they’re losing people, quite literally, its a really stressful and hard time for people."

Contact tracers call their clients anywhere from once-a-day to just three times throughout the 10 to 14 day isolation period, depending on the circumstances.

At the end of the isolation period it is up to the Chief Medical Officer Penny Sutcliffe to decide whether the health unit is done supporting a person and can approve them for discharge from isolation.