I dunno. Seems like staffing up the contact tracing is a good thing. Seems like they will be getting at least some useful statistical data of the type you were complaining we didn't have. While it is clearly more useful for preventing spread when you have fewer cases and can really drill down, I don't see this as a waste of time. I see it as important, but more for populations rather than for individuals. I think that this is one of the things that is so hard about the pandemic. Things look very different in different frames. If your frame is individual risk, that is a very different frame from overall population risk. And if they get practice now, they'll be really good at it when the case numbers drop enough that they can track infections more specifically. They could, of course, just throw away all their progress and knowledge at any point, because people are stupid and governments are subjected to stupid pressures. But I think that saying that it's pointless actually is a) not true and b) possibly harmful.