MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) --- As positive coronavirus cases surge, the Milwaukee Health Department is asking those who have tested positive to help contract tracing. 

In a news release, the department is asking people who have tested positive, to the extend they are able to, to reach out to their contact to alert them to exposure.

The department says contact tracing can play an important role in limiting the spread of the virus by alerting people who might have been exposed to the virus so they can appropriately quarantine themselves.

“Contact tracing is most effective when it is direct, prompt, and conveys actionable information. People who have tested positive for COVID-19 – those who are asymptomatic or have mild or moderate symptoms – can assist by communicating with their own close contacts,” Acting Health Commissioner Marlaina Jackson said in a news release. “As the case volumes grow, we want to speed the contact tracing work. The best way to avoid delays, or the real possibility of a contact not receiving information, is to encourage person-to-person contact tracing.”

Officials say a close contact is someone who has been in direct physical contact with a person who has tested positive - that includes handshakes or hugs. This also includes someone you live with, someone you've spent the night with, and someone you have been within six feet of.