Now, however, he faces two calls for an investigation and restrictions on his executive, after a top aide said the government was delaying the release of data on Covid-19’s deaths of residents of long-term care facilities due to concerns about a possible federal investigation by the Trump administration, at a time when former President Donald Trump has personally threatened Cuomo.
At the heart of the matter is whether New York could have better prevented the state’s nearly 46,000 deaths, the second highest total of any U.S. state to date, and whether the decision to discharge residents from hospitals to nursing homes has increased has. infections among vulnerable elderly residents.
Here’s everything you need to know about the controversy.
What happened?
James also said at the time that some nursing homes had sub-reports of resident deaths in their facilities.
The report tentatively concluded that deaths were underreported based on a survey among 62 nursing homes, about a sample of 10% of the total facilities in the state.
The Attorney General’s report set out one facility where deaths with 29 fewer prisoners were reported than to the Department of Health.
In a statement responding to the report, New York State Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker, pointed out that there was an undercount in general – and claimed that it was only a matter of classification.
The department “has always reported the number of deaths within hospitals in public, regardless of the patient’s place of residence, and has reported the number of deaths within nursing homes separately and was clear about the nature of the reporting,” Zucker said at the time.
Cuomo said the questions about deaths began as a ‘political attack’.
“What I would say is that everyone did their best,” Cuomo told a news conference on January 29. ‘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, talk to the federal government. It’s not about pointing the finger or blaming. It is that it has become a political football right. See if anyone has died in a hospital or died in a nursing home. That is – people have died. People died. ‘
How did things increase?
DeRosa specifically said the government had ‘frozen’ with regard to data questions from state lawmakers because it was concerned last summer about criticism of Trump and was unsure what information it would provide following a request from the U.S. Department of Justice regarding an investigation into the deaths in the nursing home in the state of Covid-19.
“The letter arrives at the end of August and at exactly the same time President Trump turns it into a giant political football. He starts tweeting that we’re all murdered in nursing homes, he starts behind (Governor Phil. New Jersey) Murphy, start chasing (Govin Govin), Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer (Gov. Michigan), “DeRosa said according to a transcript of the call.
In a statement last week, DeRosa sought to clarify her comments on the call with lawmakers.
“I explained that when we received the DOJ investigation, we had to temporarily set aside the Legislature’s request to deal with the federal request first. We notified the houses of this at the time,” she said. “We were comprehensive and transparent in our responses to the DOJ, and then immediately had to focus our resources on second wave and vaccine development.”
Cuomo told a news conference on Monday that the state Department of Health had always ‘fully’ reported ‘Covid-19’ deaths in nursing homes and hospitals before insisting there was ‘nothing to investigate’.
He also claimed responsibility for what he said, failing to provide information to faster people.
“The void allowed misinformation and conspiracy, and now people are sitting with the thought, ‘Should my loved one die?’ “It’s a cruel, cruel question that one has to ask,” he said. “And I want everyone to know everything is done. Everything was done in the best interests of the best minds. “
What was the dropout?
“Momentum is moving in the direction of removing its forces,” a source told CNN’s Lauren del Valle. A bill is likely to be tabled in the state legislature this week and voted on early next week.
The source said there was support for the removal of Cuomo’s expanded forces before the rival’s comments were made public, but now it’s definitely going to happen.
Cuomo said Monday there was no connection between the questions about the nursing home and its emergency powers, and he said his Covid-19 legal steps only protect the public.
“These are decisions about public health,” he said. “These are not local political decisions, and they must be made on a public health basis.”
Other lawmakers are calling for an investigation into the episode, and the Republican Party state chairman has called for Cuomo’s accusation.
“The seriousness of this cover-up cannot be overstated,” New York GOP chairman Nick Langworthy told a recent news conference.
“The Cuomo government has deliberately lied and withheld evidence and information to prevent prosecution,” he continued. “Andrew Cuomo should be prosecuted and Andrew Cuomo should be charged if this evidence exists.”
CNN’s Dakin Andone, Lauren del Valle and Eric Levenson contributed to this report.