100 more ‘detectives’ to track those at risk
New York City is spending millions to triple the number of “disease detectives” who track coronavirus among health care workers and other vulnerable groups.
By the end of March, the city Health Department will have 150 disease detectives, up from 50 on March 1 when New York had its first confirmed case of coronavirus.
The original 50 detectives had a $3 million price tag, and tripling their number will cost an additional $5.9 million.
The detectives investigate disease clusters, attempting to stop the spread of coronavirus and other illnesses by interviewing the sick to determine who they’ve encountered to track anyone else who may be infected.
With thousands of confirmed cases now across the five borou1ghs, the role of the disease detectives is shifting from trying to contain the overall number to protecting at-risk populations, city officials said.
“We’re in a different strategic context, but there are plenty of situations where that work is absolutely crucial,” Mayor de Blasio told reporters last week.
Those hired to the jobs must have a graduate degree in physical, biological or environmental science. The annual pay ranges from $64,140 at entry level to $108,426 for someone with extensive experience.
People seeking the positions at a city job fair March 12 were promised “there will be on-the-spot job offers made if you meet the minimum qualification requirements.”
In the days after the city’s first confirmed case, the detectives interviewed those with coronavirus and mapped their contacts with family, friends and co-workers, putting anyone who they saw in isolation to further stop the spread.
But investigating each individual case and quarantining people they encountered isn’t feasible with more than 9,600 New Yorkers now sickened by coronavirus and 63 dead as of Sunday morning.
De Blasio’s office said the detectives’ work is still useful in containing the disease among higher-risk populations, including health care workers, and identifying emerging clusters.
“We’ve said before that as this outbreak matures, the work of the disease detectives will focus to prioritize on identifying potential outbreaks amongst health care workers,” city Health Commissioner Oxiris Barbot told reporters last week.
“Because, again, the primary focus here is to ensure the capacity of the health care workforce. And then also to work to identify potential clusters in nursing home facilities as well as assisted living facilities.”