I Tested Positive - Now What?
Please call the Berkeley Heights Health Officer at (908) 518-5620.
This kickstarts the contact tracing process SIGNIFICANTLY faster than waiting for your case to be officially reported from the testing site to the BH Health Officer. The official process can take multiple days. Please help out on this - you will be contacted anyway, so making this call just speeds up the process and hopefully protects more people.
Contact Tracing - What is it?
Berkeley Heights cannot get COVID-19 numbers under control if people do not cooperate with contact tracers. Successful identification of people who were exposed to allow them to avoid possibly 
infecting others is crucial to break the chain of transmission, slow community spread and restart the economy.
Contact tracing is a long-standing part of the testing process; if you're getting called, it's because you tested positive for COVID-19 or you may have come into close contact with someone who has. Contact tracing is a critical part of helping our community get our COVID-19 cases under control. Union County's Contact Tracing Page - what it is & why it helps.
Contact tracers will reach out via phone, text message or letters dropped off at your door. Contact tracers will provide their name, agency and a phone number.
If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of your conversation with a contact tracer, you may hang up and call your local health department. You should feel free to request the name and ID of anyone who calls.
Get the App - COVID Alert NJ
COVID Alert NJ is New Jersey's free and secure mobile app that anonymously alerts users if they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
The app will NEVER record any identifying data. All users will remain anonymous.
Contact Tracking - Is It Confidential?
Your information is confidential. Neither your name or your COVID status will not be released to your contacts, or your COVID-19 status; that information will only be known to public health officials and our local health departments. Full details plus links to app store or Google Play store.
Contact Tracing - What Happens When I'm Contacted?
What A Contact Tracer WILL Ask...
To ensure you have the care you need and the support to keep you and your family safe, you may be asked:
- To confirm your date of birth, address, or other basic information.
- Discuss any symptoms you may have had, whether you were hospitalized, or any underlying health conditions that might put you at greater risk.
- Details about your living situation so you can be informed on how to safely self-isolate or self-quarantine.
- If you are uninsured, so we can give you additional information about free testing and care.
- You may also be asked about your job to determine if you are a health care worker or essential worker and therefore must comply with additional safety requirements.
If you tested positive for COVID-19:
- A contact tracer will work with you to identify your close contacts - anyone you spent 15 minutes or more with over a 24-hour period and were within 6 feet of while you were infectious (2 days before onset of symptoms to 10 days after).
- If you don't have symptoms, we'll ask about your activity during the two days before your diagnosis.
- We will also ask for the phone numbers of anyone you tell us about, so they can be called and cared for.
What a Contact Tracer Will NOT Ask...
- A contact tracer will never ask for your social security number
- A contact tracer will never ask for confidential financial information like your bank or credit card number.
- A contact tracer will never ask about your immigration status and ICE will not be notified about your location.
- The information you share will not be used for the purposes of law enforcement or immigration enforcement in any way.
- The information you share will not negatively affect your public charge assessment or be used to deny access to health care or any other essential service.
- Your cell phone is never tracked, a GPS location is not followed, and geolocation data is not collected or used.
If someone is requesting personal information covered above, it is likely a scam. You can report these calls online to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs or by calling 973-504-6240.