NEW YORK (AP) – The government of Andrew Cuomo’s government on Friday insisted that a pursuit of scientific accuracy, not political concerns, prompted members of its COVID-19 task force to ask the state health department for data from the past summer to delete from a report on nursing home. patients killed by the coronavirus.
The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, citing documents and people aware of the administration’s internal discussions, reported late Thursday that assistants, including the secretary of state, Melissa DeRosa, had urged state health officials to amend the July report so that only residents count those who died within long-term care facilities, and those who later died after being transferred to a hospital.
Cuomo at the time tried to divert criticism that his government had not done enough to protect residents of nursing homes from the virus. About a third of deaths in the state nursing home in the state have been ruled out due to the change in the report.
The revelations about removing the higher number of deaths come because the Democrat is also accused of sexually harassing two former assistants and a woman he met during a wedding.
Cuomo apologized on Wednesday because he ‘acted in a way that made people feel uncomfortable’, but declined calls for his resignation, saying he would cooperate fully with the Attorney General’s investigation into sexual harassment. Federal investigators are investigating the administration of nursing home data.
The top Democrats in the state have said they want the investigations to be completed before making a ruling on Cuomo’s actions, but following Thursday night’s report, some state lawmakers have called again. done on the governor to either resign or expel.
‘And Cuomo hid the numbers. Impeach, ”tweeted Ron Kim, a member of the Queens Assembly, who said Cuomo had bullied him over the reaction of the nursing home.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Friday that allegations that Cuomo assistants manipulated public reporting on deaths in nursing homes were “worrying” and said the White House “would certainly support any outside investigation.”
The July Nursing Homes Report was released to refute criticism of Cuomo over a March 25 injunction banning nursing homes from rejecting coronavirus patients discharged from hospitals. Some nursing homes at the time complained that the policy could help spread the virus.
According to the report, the policy does not play a role in the spread of infections.
The state’s analysis was based in part on what officials at the time acknowledged was an inaccurate statistic. According to the report, 6,432 people died in the state’s nursing homes.
Even then, government officials acknowledged that the actual number of deaths was higher because the report excluded patients who died in hospitals.
But at the time, they refused to give an estimate of the larger number of deaths, saying the numbers have yet to be verified.
In fact, the original drafts of the report included the number, then more than 9,200 deaths, until Cuomo’s assistants said it should be removed.
Government officials on Thursday insisted the changes were made due to concerns about accuracy.
“While early versions of the report included non-deaths, the COVID task force was not satisfied that the data was verified against hospital data. The final report therefore only uses data for in-facility deaths, which were disclosed in the report,” said Gary Holmes, spokeswoman for the health department.
The governor’s office did not respond to questions about whether Cuomo himself was involved in removing the higher mortality rate.
Scientists, healthcare professionals and elected officials approved the report at the time for flawed methodology and selective statistics that circumvented the real impact of the directive.
The administration refused for months to release more complete information. A court order and report from the state attorney in January forced the state to acknowledge that the death toll from the parental home was higher than the number previously announced.
DeRosa told lawmakers earlier this month that the government did not pass on the data to lawmakers in August due to concerns that the information against President Donald Trump would be used against them.
‘Actually, we froze, because then we were in a position where we were not sure whether what we would give to the Department of Justice or what we would give to you, what we would say would be used against us. while we were not sure whether an investigation would be launched, ”said DeRosa.
Cuomo and his health commissioner recently defended the March directive, saying it was the best option to help free beds in state hospitals at the time.
‘We made the right decision on public health at the time. And with the same facts, we will make the same decision again, “said Health Commissioner Howard Zucker. 19 February.
The state now acknowledges that at least 15,000 long-term caregivers have died, compared to a figure of 8,700 it released in late January, which does not include residents who died after being transferred to hospitals.