Michael Bloomberg is dedicating $10 million to a coronavirus contact tracing program

(Image credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images)

published 22 April 2020

Michael Bloomberg is finally resurfacing after his failed presidential bid.

The billionaire business owner and former New York City mayor will dedicate "upwards of $10 million" to a COVID-19 contact tracing program, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Wednesday. The program is aimed at tracing where people have been and who they've come in contact with in case they later test positive for coronavirus, and Bloomberg will design the whole thing.

New York state has partnered with New Jersey and Connecticut to help track where coronavirus-positive people go and warn people of potential exposure to the virus. Bloomberg "will design the program, design the training," and "he's going to make a financial contribution," Cuomo said. Johns Hopkins University and public health nonprofit Vital Strategies will also work on the project. In addition to Bloomberg's $10 million, the state has $1.3 billion to out toward contact tracing, Cuomo added.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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