ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a daily coronavirus briefing that New York is doing something that's never been done before on this scale when it comes to contact tracing.
"It will require, under any estimate, a tracing army," Cuomo said.
He explained the estimate is that 30 contact tracers are needed for every 100,000 people.
"Statewide that would be about 6,400 to 17,000 tracers," cuomo added.
So what do contact tracers do?
Overall, Cuomo explained, "When you get a positive, you talk to that person and trace back who they have been in contact with. You then test those people, then isolate those people so you don't increase the rate of infection."
Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Johns Hopkins University are partnering with the New York State Health Department to help form the state's team of tracers.
"Hiring, training, deploying and managing a small army of New Yorkers, as the governor said, is really the great challenge," Bloomberg said.
He added, "To help the state recruit contact tracers, we've brought in a staffing organization and we've also teamed up with SUNY and CUNY, both of which will help identify potential job applicants."
Bloomberg said Johns Hopkins University has also developed a training course that can be taken remotely.
"It will cover all the basics of epidemics, contact tracing and privacy. There's also a test at the end of the training, which you have to pass in order to be hired," he said.
Bloomberg said he's been in contact with mayors around the country throughout this process.
He explained during Thursday's daily briefing, "In about an hour I'll be getting on a call with mayors around the country, which is a call we hold every week. It's been a good way to share information and strategies."
Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino told 2 On Your Side he hasn't been directly contacted about the specifics of this plan, but he does communicate with the state often.
"With regard to tracing, this is all part of a new portion of, as I say, the New York plan to reopen," Restaino said.
As for the timeline and other details, he explained that's still unclear.
"Other mayors across the state, I've had an opportunity to speak to several of them, we're all sort of anticipating how this next phase will begin," Restaino added.