Billionaire Mike Bloomberg will pioneer coronavirus 'tracing army' for New York, governor announces

Former New York City mayor to help fund and create initiative aiming to significantly expand tri-state Covid-19 testing capabilities

Mike Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and billionaire presidential candidate, has announced plans to help fund and launch an "army of tracers" to perform Covid-19 testing throughout New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

The tri-state region has found itself in the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic in the US after the country confirmed its first case in late January. Health officials have since called for states and the federal government to significantly ramp up testing and tracing capabilities in order to slow the rate of transmissions and eventually lift lockdown orders across the US.

Bloomberg was expected to contribute at least $10m towards the newly-announced testing initiative, following a separate pledge from his philanthropic organisation to fund $40m in the battle against the novel virus in low and middle-income countries.

In a statement, the former New York City mayor said: “We’re all eager to begin loosening restrictions on our daily lives and our economy. But in order to do that as safely as possible, we first have to put in place systems to identify people who may have been exposed to the virus and support them as they isolate.”

The new programme aims to expand the tri-state area’s ability to trace contacts of people who contract Covid-19, so they can in turn receive testing and treatment if necessary.

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) revealed the initiative during his daily press briefing on Wednesday.

“Michael Bloomberg will design the program, design the training. He’s going to make a financial contribution also and put together an organisation that can help hire the people,” he said. “You have weeks to have this up and running, (it’s a) super-ambitious undertaking. And Mayor Bloomberg will help coordinate the entire effort.”

Mr Cuomo also noted that Bloomberg will work “with the state” while the governor works “with the city and Nassau and Suffolk (counties) and Jersey and Connecticut.”

The governor also posted a tweet about the programme, writing: “I thank [Bloomberg] for taking this on with us — it will be expensive, challenging [and] require and army of tracers.”

He concluded: “But it must be done.”

New York officials have also warned against state businesses reopening due to political pressure, as experts said a second wave could occur if residents resume normal life too quickly and the virus is allowed to spread.

“We make a bad move, it's going to set us back ... Frankly, this is no time to act stupidly,” the governor said on Wednesday. “More people will die if we are not smart.”

The daily death rate and number of hospitalisations in New York has continued to decline in recent days, with 474 deaths reported on Tuesday. The state has altogether reported over 250,000 coronavirus cases, and at least 14,828 deaths due to the novel virus.