ALBANY, N.Y. — New York State announced Wednesday that it is launching a COVID-19 testing and tracing program in unison with Connecticut and New Jersey.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says coronavirus testing and tracing will be done across the state in order to properly measure the spread of coronavirus. The governor says this will allow the state to determine the rate of the viral infection spread and will further calibrate New York State's reopening.
Cuomo says tracing will be concentrated downstate, but it will also be utilized in areas across New York that are considered coronavirus hot spots.
Michael Bloomberg, former mayor of New York City, has volunteered to help New York State develop the program. Cuomo says testing and tracing will be expensive and challenging, but it must be done in order to reopen the state.
New York did not provide a timeline on this endeavor; however, Cuomo says tracing has already started and needs to be brought to a level no one has ever imagined, stressing that it will be very difficult to accomplish.
The governor says the federal government is giving New York State $1.3 billion to help fund COVID-19 tracing.
Although the governor says the curve is on the descent in downstate New York, Cuomo added that the coronavirus pandemic will not be over anytime soon, adding that more people will die if New York is not smart.