As coronavirus threatens again, countries call in contact-tracing cavalry

Typically, Lisa Hermann is a psychology master’s student. But times are far from typical in the town of Lübeck in northern Germany.

With the federal government desperate to keep the coronavirus contained, her university circulated an ad seeking students to help with contact tracing. Having finished her degree half a year early, Ms. Hermann submitted an application. One interview later, she’d signed up for a 39-hour-a-week gig as one of Germany’s newest “containment scouts,” paid €2,325 ($2,749) a month to help with efforts throughout the country.

“It’s similar to the job I want to do in the future, which is help people get through psychologically difficult times,” Ms. Hermann says. “But sometimes the work is very stressful.”

In Ramle, Israel, Liora Valinsky, the director of public health nursing for the

An early, rigorous start in GermanyCalling in the cavalry in IsraelMaximizing their strengths