At the headquarters of Spain‘s armed forces in central Madrid is a room with a sign on the door reading „Epidemiological surveillance department“.

Inside, a team of around a dozen people, headsets on, are working 12 hours a day, seven days a week, each making between 70 and 80 daily calls to identify those who‘ve been in touch with someone who‘s tested positive for COVID.

„I‘m a contact tracer for the region of Madrid, I got your number from someone who has tested positive. Firstly, where are you right now?“ says one, using a phrase that will be repeated throughout the day.