New York City’s health department will no longer lead coronavirus contact tracing efforts, sources told NY1 on Thursday night.

According to sources, NYC Health + Hospitals will be at the helm as more than one thousand workers monitor those who tested positive for COVID-19.

Sources told us this is “not a total transfer of power,” as Health + Hospitals already conducts testing and isolation clinical work. It is, however, a significant departure from how things have been done in the past.

The health department will still “oversee tracing,” but it will now be one effort under Health + Hospitals. Sources told NY1 some health department staff members will go to Health + Hospitals “on loan” to assist efforts.

It's not clear why Mayor Bill de Blasio made the change, especially because the health department has been in charge since the outbreak began, but he is expected to make an official announcement Friday and provide more details.

Expanded contact tracing is thought to be paramount in deciding when to reopen businesses and services deemed nonessential. When key factors in the coronavirus curve — such as cases, hospitalizations, and deaths — begin to drop significantly, the city will reinstate contact tracing to identify potential COVID-19 clusters.

The city did this in March with the aid of so-called “disease detectives,” identifying people coronavirus-positive individuals came into contact with. It was meant to isolate anyone who could have contracted the virus, and contain the spread.

Those efforts gave way as the virus rapidly spreading in the five boroughs, having now infected at least 174,709 people, as of 6 p.m. Wednesday, according to the city.

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