Deputy Lee Zeldin, RN.Y., criticized New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday for “covering up” deaths in nursing homes in the state during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.
Cuomo, a Democrat, received more criticism of comments made during a press conference on Friday, his first public statement since Attorney General Letitia James, also a Democrat, said the state Department of Health had underreported deaths from COVID- 19 in nursing homes by as much as 50%.
CUOMO BLAMES NURSING HOME SCANDAL ON ‘POLITICAL ATTACK’ BY TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Trying to defend himself with statistics, Cuomo said: “One third of all deaths in this country are in nursing homes. In New York State, we are only about 28% – only. But we are below the national average in number of deaths in nursing homes. But who cares? 33, 28 died in the hospital, died in the nursing home – they died. “
“Whenever you hear him say ‘who cares’, every time this video is played, I think of the family that lost a loved one – a mother or father, grandmother or grandfather. I don’t see this story about being about data, statistics, numbers – this is a cover-up, “said Zeldin, a Republican who represents New York’s first congressional district, in an appearance on Fox News'” Sunday Morning Futures “.
“It is the cover-up of a policy that ended up resulting in the death of your grandmother or grandfather,” he told presenter Maria Bartiromo. “At the beginning, this is the end of March 2020, the state of New York ordered these nursing homes to receive infected patients and place them with healthy residents and then spread like wildfire – which is even a term that Governor Cuomo used it, and then they covered everything. “
“We are seeing more people being exposed last week after this AG’s report was published in New York state, but now families want even more,” continued Zeldin. “They don’t just want more information and transparency – they also want accountability. This is criminal ”.
NY SUBCONTRAINED DEATH OF CORONAVIRUS IN NURSING HOUSE UP TO 50%, SAYS THE STATE AG
Cuomo was criticized for his executive order in the early months of the pandemic, ordering nursing homes in the Empire State to accept patients who had or were suspected of having COVID-19. He rescinded the policy in May, and the governor has repeatedly defended the policy as being in line with the Trump administration’s guidelines at the time.
In response to the state attorney general’s report, Cuomo dismissed criticism of him as a “political attack” carried out by the former Trump administration. But Michael Caputo, assistant secretary of public affairs for President Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services, responded, arguing that experts in the Health and Human Services administration identified Cuomo’s “silly” executive order as the leading cause of thousands of deaths by COVID in New York nursing homes from the start, and Cuomo therefore must be held accountable.
Cuomo was reportedly considered Biden’s choice to become US Attorney General before Biden chose Judge Merrick Garland. He is running for re-election in 2022 for what would be his fourth term.
“I think a lot of the state of New York ended up with Andrew Cuomo,” said Zeldin. “He can be re-elected again in 2022. We have no statutory term limits in New York, however, we have term limits when New Yorkers go to the polls, they don’t have to continue to reelect him.”
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“This is someone who is going to his fourth term and there is a certain arrogance, as if his hard work has ended. Now it’s about collecting Emmys and writing books, he’s not talking about restoring liberties. he’s not talking about public security, ”Zeldin continued.“ Instead, they’re going the other way on bail without money, and you see the emptying of the police movement in New York City, so I hope New Yorkers act and save our state in November 2022. “
Fox News’s Morgan Phillips and Vandana Rambaran contributed to this report.