New York, June 22 (RHC)-- New York City's effort to stop the spread of the coronavirus through contact tracing has been hampered by the reluctance of many people who are infected with the virus to provide information to tracers, according to a report in The New York Times.

The Times report said just 35 percent of the 5,347 city residents who tested positive or were presumed positive for COVID-19 in the first two weeks of the contact tracing program gave information about their close contacts.

Perry N. Halkitis, dean of the School of Public Health at Rutgers University, told the newspaper that the 35 percent rate for eliciting contacts is "very bad."