Prof Ian Young and Robin Swann attend the Health Committee
Professor Ian Young said the scheme could trace everyone with a positive result.
Health Minister Robin Swann said there are currently 102 contact tracers on site, with recruitment closing today.
Tracers are on a one-year contract with an option to extend to two years.
There are 2 levels of recruitment, including nurses and environmental health staff who are able to offer advice and guidance beyond self-isolating with symptoms.
Professor Young added that the current rate of transmission of the virus, the R number, is sitting between 0.8 and 1.0, and it will be published once a week, on either Thursday night or Friday.
The North of Ireland will concentrate on a physical contact tracing scheme, rather than an app,
Prof Young said he felt the usefulness of an app has been overstated, because of 50% of people used it, only 25% of contacts would be traced. “At best, it is an adjunct,” he said.
Mr Swann said the indications were that because the app relies on Bluetooth being on, it drains battery and so on, making it unattractive.
He said people at the end of a phone was proving effective.
The Health Minister said deaths from COVID-19 in the North of Ireland have fallen for the fourth week in a row.
“While the downward trend is welcome for us all, COVID-19 remains a real threat and there is no room for complacency,” he said.
The minister added that “it’s vital we continue to act responsibly” and encourages people to maintain social distancing and washing their hands – adding that he hopes increased hand hygiene is a practice which will continue into the future, after the pandemic.
He told MLAs that significant backlogs have built up in screening and elective care during the pandemic.
Mr Swann said he wants to see the “resumption of services as quickly as possible” as he says the virus is not the only issue claiming lives.
The department is “developing a strategic framework for rebuilding health and social care services” which the minister says he intends to “publish very shortly”.
Tags: