NEW YORK – Mayor Bill de Blasio called for “a full account of what happened” after the revelation that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration has halted the release of data on Covid-19-related deaths in nursing homes.
Key context: Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, told Democratic state lawmakers at a meeting on Wednesday that management “froze” when asked to share data on the number of nursing home residents who died in Covid-19, the New York Post reported.
Critics attributed the high mortality rates to the Cuomo government orders in March, ordering nursing homes to admit patients who tested positive for Covid-19.
De Blasio, a frequent critic of the governor and the New York Post, called it “a really disturbing report” and added that it is “very worrying”.
“We need to know more,” said de Blasio on WNYC’s The Brian Lehrer on Friday morning. “Now we need a complete account of what happened. Think of the elderly … their lives were in danger and their families desperate to get the help they needed. We need to know exactly what happened here. We need to be sure that nothing like this will happen again. “
Impact: DeRosa said the government has refrained from releasing the data due to former President Donald Trump’s efforts to turn the tragedy “into a giant political football,” according to the Post.
In a statement released on Friday morning, she said that when the government received the Justice Department’s inquiry, they had to “temporarily void the legislature’s request to deal with the federal request first.” She also said that the governor’s office “informed the houses at the time” and insisted that Cuomo officials were “comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ”.
What is the next: Leading Republicans called for Cuomo resign or be forfeited. Democratic state senator Alessandra Biaggi and 13 other lawmakers said the governor’s emergency powers made sense during the early stages of the pandemic, but should be restricted in light of the report.
“It is clear that the expanded emergency powers granted to the governor are no longer appropriate,” lawmakers wrote in a statement.
Democrats have become increasingly critical of Cuomo, also a Democrat, after a recent report by State Attorney General Tish James saying his government underestimated the death toll. In that report, James said the official count of around 8,500 was wrong by up to 50 percent.