Advisors to the New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo New York Democratic Lawmaker: Sexual Harassment Allegations Show ‘Clear Pattern of Cuomo’s Abuse of Power’ Lawyer for Former Cuomo Assistant Blows Out ‘Falsehoods’ at Briefing If Trump steps back in the spotlight, will Cuomo leave the stage? LAKE (D) urged state health officials to amend a July public report on COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, people with knowledge of the report’s production said The Wall Street Journal.
The report focused only on residents who died in long-term care facilities and not those who died in hospitals after becoming ill in nursing homes. The report said 6,432 nursing home residents had died, which was an under-number of the death toll, the sources told the paper.
The report in question came in response to a New York State Department of Health (DOH) investigation into the impact of a March guideline stating that nursing homes could not refuse to take residents back or admit new residents from hospitals simply because of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
According to the newspaper, the report shifted the blame for spreading the virus to the staff who brought the virus to work.
The first draft of the report included data on deaths of nursing home residents in homes, as well as deaths in hospitals, the Journal reported. However, members of Cuomo’s COVID-19 task force, including Gov. Secretary Melissa DeRosa, asked for the report to downplay the role of the March directive, which was rejected.
According to the Journal, the published report said the guideline “was not a major factor in the number of fatalities in nursing homes.”
Garvey told the Journal that the task force members did not ask for the report to be amended, but “were very careful not to overstate the statistical analysis presented in the report. Overall, ensuring the public’s confidence in the conclusion was the ultimate goal of DOH and the Covid task force in releasing the report. “
The Journal’s report comes as Cuomo is increasingly called for dismissal amid his handling of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, as well as allegations of inappropriate behavior from staff members.
State legislators came to an agreement Tuesday to rid Cuomo of his pandemic-related emergency powers amid the controversies.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report in January finding that the Cuomo government was reporting too few deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50 percent, and denounced the March guideline.
According to the Journal, the July report is relevant to a federal investigation into the Cuomo’s administration of COVID-19 in nursing homes.