Cuomo defends the decision to postpone the release of data on Covid-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in New York

Cuomo defends the decision to postpone the release of data on Covid-19 deaths in long-term care facilities in New York

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Cuomo said the Department of Health “paused” state lawmakers’ request for data because they prioritized a related Department of Justice investigation. He said the two chambers of the state legislature were informed about this at the time.

In addition, he said the Department of Health left data requests in the background and prioritized dealing with the immediate pandemic crisis, which he acknowledged had created a “vacuum” of facts that allowed misinformation to enter.

“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,” he said.

The New York governor's chief aide admits that the government has delayed the release of Covid-19 deaths in long-term institutions because of federal investigations
“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 us while we weren’t sure if there would be a investigation, “DeRosa said on the call, according to a transcript released on Friday by the governor’s office.
The revelations undermine Cuomo’s reputation for self-exaggeration as an honest sniper, enhanced during daily press conferences last spring, as the new coronavirus ravaged New York. His communicative approach provided a stark contrast to former President Trump’s lies and false guarantees that the virus was under control and would disappear.

After DeRosa’s admission, Democratic leaders in the state legislature are in active discussions to draft a bill to revoke Cuomo’s expanded executive powers during the pandemic.

“There is an impetus in the direction of removing its powers,” a source told CNN.

The source said there was support for the removal of Cuomo’s expanded powers before the aide’s comments were made public, but now “this will definitely happen.” A bill is likely to be presented this week in the state legislature and voted on early next week.

However, Cuomo said on Monday that there was no connection between the issues of the nursing home and its emergency powers, and said that its legal actions against Covid-19 are only to protect the public.

“These are public health decisions,” he said. “These are not local political decisions and must be made based on public health.”

Cuomo says the investigation is politically motivated

The heart of the matter centers on whether Cuomo and New York health officials could have better avoided the nearly 46,000 deaths of Covid-19 in the state, the second largest in any state in the United States.
A particular focus of this issue was the state’s decision to send thousands of patients recovering from Covid-19 infections from hospitals to nursing homes. Cuomo said a long time ago that this decision was based on federal guidance to do so under the theory that these patients were probably no longer contagious and that hospitals needed the space.

A second tip of this question was to look more closely at how many nursing home residents died in nursing homes and how many nursing home residents died in hospitals.

In late January, State Attorney General Letitia James released a report that found that the New York State Department of Health underestimated Covid-19 deaths among residents of nursing homes by about 50%.
In a statement on Friday, DeRosa sought to better explain his admission that the state “froze” in liaison with lawmakers.
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“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 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.”

In the past few months, Cuomo has repeatedly sought to dismiss questions about data on deaths in nursing homes as a “political attack”.

“What I would say is that everyone did the best they could. When I say that the State Department of Health – as the report said – the State Department of Health followed federal guidance. So, if you think there was a mistake, go and talk to the federal government, “he said on January 29.

“It’s not about pointing fingers or blaming. It’s just that it has become a political football right. Look, if a person died in a hospital or in a nursing home. Yeah – people died. People died.”

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