NEW YORK - Mayor Bill de Blasio says the city's contact tracing team is ready to track down people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus.

At his daily briefing Tuesday, the mayor said more than 1,700 tracers have been hired to take on the task of contacting friends, family, and anyone else who may have been near someone who recently contracted the virus.

Nearly half of the tracers live in the neighborhoods that have been hit hardest by COVID-19.

The Health + Hospitals official leading this program says the city is looking out for more than someone's physical well-being.

"When you're on the phone with a tracer, in New York City we want to make sure you're okay at home. So we're going to ask you, 'Do you need help with utilities food, medications, and if so, if you could stay at home to self-separate from your family members to keep them safe?' We're going to help you with everything else to make sure you're successful," said Dr. Ted Long, VP of Ambulatory Care, NYC Health + Hospitals.

The mayor said the tracing teams speak multiple languages, including Spanish.

Training for contact tracers are scheduled to be complete by June 1.

The current goal for phase one of reopening the city is the first or second week of June.