tracing as COVID-19 cases rise COVID-19 cases rise daily in our county, with over one thousand new cases reported from Kern County Public Health just Tuesday. The state says that if our region does not slow the spread of this virus, our hospitals will be in danger of receiving more patients than they can help. 23ABC’s Kristin Vartan spoke with public health about one crucial way they plan to mitigate the case rate: contact tracing.