- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo held his daily press conference on the Covid-19 outbreak.
- Covid-19 has infected more than 258,500 people across the state as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) speaks during a press Conference at the State Capitol.Michael Brochstein | Barcroft Media | Getty Images
Mike Bloomberg, the billionaire philanthropist and former mayor of New York City, will help the state develop and implement an aggressive program to test for Covid-19 and trace people who have had contact with infected individuals, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday.
"Michael Bloomberg will design the program, design the training, he's going to make a financial contribution," Cuomo said at a press conference in Albany. "He has tremendous insight both governmentally and from a private sector business perspective in this."
As the state continues to ramp up its capacity to test for Covid-19, Cuomo said tracing and isolating people who have come into contact with infected individuals will be key to containing the outbreak. Johns Hopkins University and public health nonprofit Vital Strategies will also be partnering with New York in this effort, Cuomo said
"This is a monumental undertaking, we're all going to do it," Cuomo said. Bloomberg will "also put together an organization that can help hire the people, because we have to expand this number tenfold"
Bloomberg's financial contribution will be "upwards of $10 million," according to Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor.
Cuomo announced the new testing program a day after meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington. Trump committed to working with New York to double the number of tests the state conducts each day to 40,000, Cuomo said.
Bloomberg last month abandoned a bid to win the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination after spending almost $1 billion on his campaign. The media mogul's campaign never gained traction despite garnering wide-spread press attention. By the time he quit, Bloomberg had only won 46 delegates during primary and caucus contests.
Covid-19 has infected more than 258,500 people across the state as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
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Source: cnbc.com
