The Charedi Epidemiologist: "I Have Methods to Help People Remember"

No one wishes to receive a phone call from the Ministry of Health's epidemiologists. If you've received such a call, it means one of two things - either you are a confirmed patient, and they want to interview you to know where you've been, or you've recently been near a confirmed patient, and now you're being informed about entering quarantine. Either way, the words 'epidemiologist' that many could not previously pronounce without breaking their teeth do not sound like something one would wish for themselves.

"You'd be surprised, but some people are actually happy to receive calls from us," claims Hodaya Assoulin, a young Charedi woman who has been working for the past half-year as an epidemiologist for the Ministry of Health. "There are times when I call people who only hours ago were informed that they are positively identified with the virus, and they feel confused and lacking information. When I speak with them, before starting the investigation, I first try to clarify and explain the guidelines they need to know. I often find that this greatly helps them."

Cooperation = Saving Lives

A Charedi epidemiologist, it sounds like an unexpected profession. How did you end up in it?

"I'm a student of architecture and interior design at the Charedi Center for Vocational Training, and I was looking for a profession that would align with my studies. I saw an advertisement for this job and decided to apply."

Hodaya notes that the Ministry of Health did not require her to prove any specific background or special skills. "But in the resume I sent, I mentioned that I had previously worked in a tourist center in a role that involved phone conversations with clients, so I have experience in telecommunication. I believe this contributed to the interest. In the end, I connected very much to the role, and recently I've also been instructing three groups of new investigators."

According to her, it is a full-time job that usually includes five days a week and lasts eight hours a day. "There were times when we had a very heavy load, like a few weeks ago, during the third wave. On those days, we were asked to work six days a week, including Fridays and Saturday nights, and sometimes much more than eight hours a day. For entire days I spoke on the phone, and some days I conducted more than 30 investigations. On the other hand, there were relatively quiet periods with few investigations and long hours of quiet between investigations."

Where is the work conducted? Where do you sit?

"I work from home, as do most of the other epidemiologists. Every morning, I log into the system, then I start receiving names of people who tested positive in the last few hours, and I call them. As I mentioned, first of all, I ask how they feel and if they need help with anything. I am also interested in the symptoms they have, and according to parameters, I calculate the period of contagion. Then I start reviewing their daily schedule - whom they were with, whom they met, and who was with them at home. Once the call is over, I move on to the reporting phase, sometimes to educational institutions or clinics, or any other place the patients were. I also publish these places on the Ministry of Health's website. People think that only at the start of the corona period did we publish the names of the places where the patients visited, but that's not accurate, as to this day we are careful about it, despite the large number of confirmed cases. Those interested can enter the site and see the names of the places the new patients visited, and where it is impossible to reach the people who were in those places, such as supermarkets, public transportation, etc."

Due to her role, Hodaya is also responsible for contacting people who came into contact with COVID-19 patients and informing them that they must enter quarantine. "These phone calls are less pleasant," she admits, "sometimes people respond harshly, and there were those who told me they just came out of another quarantine. But it happens quite a bit that I call to inform about quarantine due to being near a confirmed patient, and a few days later, I get the same name again, to call them after it turned out they were tested positive for the virus. In such situations, I understand the importance of the first conversation I had. Because while entering quarantine isn't pleasant and it disrupts life, it truly saves lives."

Why is there a need for a phone call? Why can't you just send a message?

"The messages people receive are not usually from the Ministry of Health but from the Shin Bet that locates them via satellite, but we can't rely on that because many in the Charedi community use kosher devices that don't receive messages. So we try to call every person we understand needs to enter quarantine and inform them via phone call. However, when there are busy periods with many investigations, we settle for sending messages, and during times when the load is very high, we rely on public trust and ask the confirmed patient themselves to inform their close contacts that they need to isolate."

Are these days considered busy times?

"Until recently, there were very busy days, at the peak of the third wave. Now I feel the workload has slightly decreased."

With Sensitivity and Empathy

Even people with a good memory find it hard to recall where they visited last week and what they did each hour of the day. What do you do to extract this information from them?

"I have a method that usually works well – we start from the closest day and move backward. For instance, if I have a person who was contagious throughout the last week, I first ask where they visited today and then what they did yesterday and the day before. This refreshes their memory. If there are people who really can't remember their schedule, I try to guide them with questions, and additionally, each of their answers triggers another question from me. For instance, if someone tells me they were at a certain place, I immediately ask how they got there - by car or public transportation. If by car, I inquire who else was with them on the trip, and thus they recall additional details relevant to the investigation. In the end, almost everyone remembers."

Do you also investigate children?

"We are not authorized to investigate children under 18, but when the child understands the matter, sometimes the parents voluntarily suggest that we speak with them. When the children are young, we ask the parents to stand by and hear the answers."

Hodaya emphasizes that she fully sees her role as a mission. "It's not just that I know I'm helping to break the chain of infection, but I also often talk to people who genuinely long for a phone call and interest. Nowadays, I can already identify who are the people completely alone at home, and when they answer my call, I hear the joy in their voices. It's evident they were waiting for such a call."

As a Charedi woman, do they assign you to speak specifically with those connected to the sector?

"I receive a list without any religious segmentation, but I swiftly recognize the Charedi names. It's enough for me to see the names of the streets or neighborhoods to understand this. I can also easily discern it from their responses. For example, if someone tells me he is a yeshiva student or went to study in a kollel, I know exactly what he means and also understand what questions need to be asked to understand what exactly he went through that day."

What is certain is that the job is entirely non-routine and very non-monotonic. "There's not a single call that doesn’t come with a story," she claims. "Once I spoke with a groom who was supposed to get married the next day but turned out to be positive for COVID-19 and the wedding was postponed. He was in an emotional storm and a flurry of phone calls to postpone the wedding and update the guests, yet he answered the phone so gently, in a truly inspiring way. On another occasion, I happened to investigate a confirmed person while he was sitting Shiva for his mother who died of COVID-19. It required quite some sensitivity from me because I understood I was speaking with a grieving person, but I still had to continue with the investigation. In one instance, I investigated a parent of a child with attention and concentration difficulties who told me that his child, who had just been confirmed positive for COVID-19, had already been in quarantine for nearly a month because he was near brothers who tested positive. Now he'd need to be in quarantine for an additional 14 days, and the father sounded completely helpless. "These are just stories on the tip of the iceberg," emphasizes Hodaya, "because there are countless such stories."

Isn't it hard for you to talk to people dealing with isolation and illness? It can be depressing...

"It's true that it's difficult, but usually, I manage to separate and treat the phone calls mostly as work, without letting them affect my emotions. The challenge is significant because the calls need to be made with much emotion and empathy, but I try to make sure it doesn’t ultimately affect my daily life."

In the Name of the Law

Does it happen that people do not cooperate with you?

"Yes, it happens, but it's not legal. Every citizen in the State of Israel is legally obligated to answer the investigation and cooperate with us as part of public health protection. When there are people who don't cooperate or 'filter' us and don't answer the calls, we pass this for enforcement. Sometimes it turns out that the number just wasn't valid, but if it's a refusal to cooperate, it can be accompanied by a fine. In general, we strive very much not to reach such corners. Our calls are usually very friendly and conducted in a pleasant and respectful atmosphere. Of course, if in the end the citizens don't cooperate with us, then there will be other bodies that will do it instead."

Hodaya mentions that the moment she became so aware of people's feelings came after she herself contracted COVID-19. "I got sick about a month ago," she says, "and suddenly I received the familiar phone call, only this time I was on the other side of the fence... initially, it was quite amusing because one of the first questions we ask the confirmed is 'what do you do'. When the investigator asked me this question, I replied: "I'm an epidemiologist." I think I cooperated well, but since I was weak at that time, I started to better understand the people I investigate. Because they're not always feeling well, and sometimes when we call, it's just not a convenient time for them to answer. And yes, sometimes it's really hard to remember the details. This experience was important for me."

Finally, Hodaya wishes to convey a message: "Sometimes people feel uncomfortable about causing others to enter quarantine, but human life is the top priority. We have to remember that the only commandment in the Torah written with the word 'very' is 'and you shall greatly guard your souls'. As believers, we know how important it is to protect ourselves, and if we've reached the point of getting sick, then at least we should protect and shield our environment."