New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
Andrew CuomoRestaurants face a gloomy Valentine’s Day Day Health care: CDC asks schools to reopen with precautions | Cuomo faces growing investigation into deaths in nursing homes COVID-19 | Biden employees begin rescinding Medicaid job requirements Cuomo faces growing scrutiny over deaths in nursing homes COVID-19 MORE (D) on Monday defended his government’s pandemic response, while accepting some flaws, while scrutiny increases over how the state handled COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes.
The New York governor confirmed at a news conference that the state Department of Health “paused” state lawmakers’ inquiry into mortality data in nursing homes to prioritize treatment of the general pandemic and the Justice Department’s request for information similar in August.
Cuomo noted that both chambers of the state legislature were informed of the department’s decision at the time that led to the “delay”, adding: “They can’t say they didn’t know”.
His press conference came days after his adviser, Melissa DeRosa, told state lawmakers on a phone call that the government “froze” by releasing information about deaths in long-term care institutions due to fears that the DOJ would launch a federal investigation – a revelation that sparked a bipartisan reaction.
The governor acknowledged that the postponement of his government’s data generated a “vacuum” of facts, allowing the spread of misinformation, misinformation and conspiracy theories.
“The void allowed for misinformation and conspiracy, and now people are left with the thought, ‘did my beloved have to die?’ And that is a brutal and brutal question of asking a person, “he said.” And I want everyone to know that everything has been done. Everything was done by the best minds in the best interest. “
“In retrospect, should we have given more priority to responding to requests for information? In my opinion, yes, and I think that’s what created the void. But do I understand the pressure that everyone was under? Yes,” said Cuomo during the briefing Monday.
State lawmakers criticized Cuomo’s defense on Monday, saying the government could have released data after handling the DOJ request in September, instead of answering questions from the legislature six months later, according to The New York Times.
New York accounted for more than 15,000 COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes and long-term care facilities. But by the end of January, the state had reported 8,500 deaths, leaving out those who died outside the facility, as after being transferred to a hospital.
Lawmakers questioned whether the Cuomo administration could have done more to prevent these deaths and the 37,221 deaths in general due to COVID-19.
Last week, the New York Post reported for the first time DeRosa’s comments on the call regarding the freezing of information on deaths in nursing homes.
“And basically, we froze, because then we were in a position where we weren’t sure if what we were going to give to the Justice Department or what we gave you, what we started to say would be used against while we weren’t sure if there would be an investigation “she said, according to a transcript provided by Cuomo’s office.
DeRosa clarified his comments in a statement last week, saying “I was explaining that when we received the DOJ inquiry, we needed to temporarily void the Legislature’s request to deal with the federal request first.”
“We informed the houses about this at the time,” she said. “We were comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ, so we immediately had to focus our resources on the second wave and the launch of the vaccine.”
“As I said in a call with lawmakers, we could not respond to their request as quickly as anyone would like,” added DeRosa. “But we are committed to being better partners in the future, as we share the same goal of keeping New Yorkers as healthy as possible during the pandemic.”
Critics of the Cuomo government’s management of nursing homes grew for months among Republican congressmen. The issue peaked when New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report last month that concluded that the state underestimated deaths in nursing homes by about 50 percent, excluding those who died afterwards. to be taken to hospitals.
Updated at 21:32