Contact tracing 'army' being put together in NY by Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins

ALBANY N.Y. — New York state is getting some help as it looks to develop an "army" for contact tracing amid the battle against the coronavirus.

Thursday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo outlined one of the next major steps the state is taking in the fight against the pandemic. New York is looking to build a contact tracing resources to help prevent the spread of the virus.

While tracing can be an effective way to reduce the virus' spread, the problem is scale. The governor said more than 4,600 new patients were diagnosed in the past 24 hours alone, and attempting to track down everyone each individual patient had contact with over the preceding 14 days could prove to be a challenge.

To that end, however, New York is receiving aid from a number of organizations. Former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has been tasked with helping to create a contact tracing initiative to help recruit tracers and execute a plan to keep New York up to par on tracing efforts.

Bloomberg Philanthropies is teaming up with Johns Hopkins University and other groups to find and recruit potential tracers and train them to trace COVID-19 cases. CUNY and SUNY schools are also providing assistance to find applicants.

"When social distancing is relaxed, contact tracing is our best hope for isolating the virus when it appears, and keeping it isolated," Bloomberg said Thursday. "The governor has recognized that, and since Bloomberg Philanthropies has deep experience and expertise in public health, we're glad to support the state in developing and implementing a contact tracing program."

Mayor Bloomberg joined Governor Cuomo's daily briefing Thursday:

Bloomberg said New York's playbook will be made public, so that other states - and countries - can mimic what it is doing to combat the virus.

Cuomo said the New York will also turn to health officials at the state, county and city levels to help bolster the tracing army, as well as government employees who may not be working at this time.

In all, Cuomo said New York may need between 6,400 to 17,000 tracers, depending on projections for the virus.

306 New Yorkers died from the coronavirus within the preceding 24 hours. Hospitalizations, net change in hospitalizations continue to trend downward, while the number of new hospitalizations dropped slightly.

Thursday, Governor Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new efforts to address concerns regarding sanitation in the New York City transit system. The full news conference can be seen here:

Meanwhile, Governor Cuomo said an update on the NY on PAUSE initiative could be coming Friday. Under that order, non-essential workers across the state were ordered to stay home. The governor has said some businesses in the state could reopen as soon as May 15, depending on how essential the business is, the impact of the virus on a given community and what safety measures have been put in place at individual businesses.