New York U.S. Rep. Stefanik (far right) joined a number of Republican lawmakers for a press conference.
A report released by the New York State Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, January 28, revealed that the number of deaths in nursing homes from the Chinese Communist virus released by the New York State Department of health may have been a 50 percent underestimate of the actual number. In response, New York State Assemblywoman Elise Stefanik (D-NY) called the revelations “a massive corruption and cover-up scandal at the highest levels of New York State government” and demanded that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo be held accountable.
Stefanik is now urging New York State Attorney General Leitia James, a Democrat, and the Department of Justice to issue subpoenas to Governor Cuomo for documents and information related to the New York State government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. She also argued that in addition to Cuomo, New York’s secretary of state, state health commissioner and the governor’s staff were responsible for the troubling findings.
In a statement, Stefanik said, “Every New Yorker has a right to know what this illegal cover-up (of the state capital) has fabricated, and those involved should be held accountable and responsive.”
Giannocchio’s office released a 76-page report Thursday. After investigating 62 of the 600 nursing homes in New York State, it found that the state Department of Health recorded only 1,229 deaths from the CCP virus in those homes, but the actual number being reported was 1,914. The report said that if the same problem existed statewide, the rate of underreporting of deaths in New York State nursing homes could be as high as 56 percent.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 27, the New York State Department of Health reported 8,711 deaths in nursing homes in the state from the CCA virus. If the underreported number is made up, the figure could exceed 13,000.
In a statement, Jen Lakha said, “As our investigation continues into the outbreak, it is important to understand why New York’s nursing Home residents are suffering so unnecessarily” and “While we cannot undo those who have died in this outbreak, this investigative report is intended to provide the transparency the public deserves and to take more more action to protect our most vulnerable nursing home residents.”
The disproportionately high number of deaths from the CCP virus in nursing homes has been the focus of criticism of Cuomo. He has been criticized for the wrong policies that led to this outcome. However, Cuomo has repeatedly excused himself by saying it was not his responsibility. According to the analysis, the report by Zhan Leixia’s office will certainly spark more debate on Cuomo’s policy on how to deal with nursing home residents infected with the disease.
At the beginning of last year’s outbreak, Cuomo ordered nursing home residents recovering in hospitals to be sent back to their homes to ease a shortage of hospital beds, a policy that may have led to more deaths, Zhan said. Last year, the Cuomo administration flatly denied the allegations, saying, “Nursing home admission requirements were not a significant factor in the number of nursing home deaths.”
Cuomo has consistently disavowed the policy as the cause of the dramatic increase in nursing home resident deaths and has consistently praised his state’s response during the outbreak. For its part, the Giannoccia report shows that “the state’s guidelines, which allowed nursing home admissions for patients infected with the disease, may have increased the risk of infection for certain nursing home residents and may have obscured data that could have been used to assess the risk.”
The report also cites an anonymous nursing home as an example. The nursing home reported to the state Department of Health that there were 11 confirmed versus probable cases of death from CCHS infection at the home. However, after an investigation by the state attorney general, it was found that 40 people at the nursing home had died from the CCP virus, including 13 deaths in the hospital and 27 in the nursing home.
Current data shows that many nursing home residents infected with the CCP virus died after being transferred to hospitals for treatment. In response, Gov. Cuomo explained that the state Department of Health excluded the number of people who were transferred from nursing homes to hospitals and ultimately died in hospitals.
Cuomo’s office was criticized earlier this month because New York State did not release data on the deaths of nursing home residents infected with the CCP virus for two months. As of this week, according to data released by the New York State Department of Health, about 35,000 people have died from the CCP virus in New York State, with about 70 percent of those cases in seniors over the age of 70.
Recent Comments