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


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.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Apple and Google recently announced a rare partnership to develop a contact tracing program embedded in their customers' phones. Their program would allow people to opt in to have their location privately tracked, and if they test positive for COVID-19, will be able to alert anyone they'd been around.
Fundraising numbers released Monday showed Bloomberg spent more than $1 billion on his three-month-long presidential run, which is shaping up to have been even shorter than the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
Why does the U.S. need China's rare earth metals?
Today's Big Question Beijing has a 'near monopoly' on tech's raw materials
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
When did divorce begin?
The Explaine Couples have always split up, but the institution has undergone major changes over the years
By David Faris
-
What are your retirement savings account options?
The explainer The two main types of accounts are 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
By Becca Stanek, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New form of H5N1 bird flu found in US dairy cows
Speed Read This new form of bird flu is different from the version that spread through herds in the last year
By Peter Weber, The Week US