Twilio, the leading cloud communications platform, announced that Twilio will power the communications for New York City’s contact tracing initiative. Through the city’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT), the city is planning to deploy a cloud-based contact center on Twilio Flex and leverage Twilio SMS and Voice as key parts of the City’s COVID-19 tracing program.

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“Throughout this pandemic, the ability for businesses and government agencies to quickly spin up and iterate ways to engage customers and constituents has never been more important”

As governments explore strategies to slow new COVID-19 cases and safely reopen economies, public health departments have identified contact tracing as a crucial step in the process. When implemented effectively, contact tracing can lessen the impact of COVID-19 on communities and economies by lowering mortality rates and allowing people to safely return to work. New York City recently announced a plan to hire thousands of contact tracers to support these efforts in the coming months.

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Twilio is working with government agencies and health departments to deploy and scale their contact tracing solutions. Twilio’s platform is well-suited to support the fundamental communication needs for contact tracing, including connecting securely with COVID-19 patients and known contacts, to help monitor the spread of the virus. Twilio offers an omnichannel contact center built using Twilio Flex to call, message or email COVID-19 patients, educate them on the virus, and identify their close contacts through self-reporting. The platform also provides messaging-based alerts using Twilio Voice, SMS, email or WhatsApp that prompt patients to fill out secure surveys on their symptoms.

“Throughout this pandemic, the ability for businesses and government agencies to quickly spin up and iterate ways to engage customers and constituents has never been more important,” said George Hu, chief operating officer at Twilio. “New York City’s contact tracing solution makes it possible for the city to connect with and support residents with COVID-19 and keep their known contacts safe and informed. Twilio is proud to work with innovative leaders like New York City’s CIO, Jessica Tisch, as they invest in the health, safety and future of their constituents.”

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