An Army of Virus Tracers Takes Shape in Massachusetts


While East Asian countries have found success in deploying technology to do contact tracing, or a method of virus containment in which disease detectives track and monitor the interactions and movements of known infected people, U.S. states like Massachusetts is relying on people power. In a $44 million program, the state government is hiring more than 1,000 tracers. San Francisco is using 150 volunteers, and Ireland is sending out 1,000 furloughed government workers.

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