NEW YORK, December 3. /TASS/. Delta Airlines will be the first US-based airline to collect data from passengers that may have come into contact with COVID-19 patients, a statement published on the company’s website on Thursday informs.

"Delta is partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to keep international customers informed of potential COVID-19 exposure through contact tracing. Along with our nine global airline partners, we are working with government agencies, health officials and aviation authorities to offer safer travel at every point in your journey," the statement reads. "Beginning Dec. 15, Delta will become the first U.S. airline to ask customers traveling to the U.S. from an international location to voluntarily provide five pieces of data to aid contact tracing and public health follow-up efforts, including: full name, email address, address in the U.S., primary phone, secondary phone."

Passengers of any Delta-operated flight, as well as foreigners arriving to the US, will be able to participate in this program on a voluntary basis. The data collected will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). "This will give the CDC access to the data in moments, dramatically decreasing the time it takes to notify affected customers via local health departments," the statement notes.

According to the current procedure, in case of a confirmed COVID-19 case among the passengers, the CDC requests information from Delta to identify all customers seated two seats around the confirmed case. "This information is then transmitted to the appropriate local health departments for follow-up, with each department taking responsibility for passengers in their own jurisdiction," Delta Airlines informed.

According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University, the US has documented over 13.9 mln cases of COVID-19, and approximately 273,900 people have died from the virus since the start of the pandemic. The US ranks first in the world on COVID-19 cases and deaths.