NEW YORK CITY: The COVID Contact Tracing Program Will End In April

NEW YORK CITY: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance saying universal contact tracing was no longer recommended. Instead health departments are encouraged to focus on high-risk settings, like long-term care facilities.

The city supports the CDC's recommendations to scale down contact tracing going forward.

The health department will continue contact tracing in high-risk settings and offering resources to New Yorkers to help them identify if they have COVID-19 and to isolate safely if they are positive.

The city began its tracing program in June 2020, employing roughly 2,000 contact tracers to connect New Yorkers with resources to help them to isolate after exposure to the virus, including free hotel rooms, free meals and other services. 

When the main tracing program ends in April, New Yorkers who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a text message about resources still available to them, including a new program for anti-viral pill delivery.