This report identifies states that have defined and are reporting setting-specific COVID-19 outbreaks as of November 2020 and highlights promising examples that others can look to as they consider adapting and expanding COVID-19 reporting. It also includes a summary of the status of related reporting on contact tracing and a discussion of the impact of increasing levels of community spread on states’ abilities to collect and report outbreak data.
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Disease Tracking and Surveillance
Disease surveillance helps us detect disease cases, understand burden of disease and risk factors, provide the basis for timely and informed decision-making, guide control measures, and monitor impacts. Since the onset of COVID-19, surveillance efforts have worked to provide real-time tracking and forecast data, despite challenges with diagnostic capacity, case reporting, insufficient contact tracing, and fragmented data systems. COVID-19 has highlighted the need to invest in modern data systems, expand and skill up the workforce, and ensure data reporting and interpretation retain high ethical and epidemiological standards.