New York Governor Cuomo speaks at a press conference on July 6, 2020.
The scandal of New York State’s delay in releasing the actual number of deaths in nursing homes infected with COVID-19 (Chinese Communist virus) has been continuously reported by various media outlets. The case was not only criticized by Republicans, but also by Democratic state legislators who demanded that Cuomo apologize to the victims’ families. Cuomo finally responded at a press conference on the 15th, but still did not say a word of apology, even insisting that the state’s announcement of the number of nursing Home deaths was complete and accurate, only admitting that last year’s delay in releasing the data was due to the failure to immediately release the relevant number of deaths due to the federal Justice Department’s investigation of nursing home deaths.
At an internal meeting of the state Democratic Party last week, Secretary of State Melissa DeRosa apologized to lawmakers of her party for refusing to release the true number of nursing home deaths statewide last year, and admitted to freezing the data. The governor declined to answer questions from the New York Post that day, saying there was “nothing to investigate” about the secretary’s admission of a data cover-up.
“The New York State Department of health has fully and publicly reported all COVID deaths in nursing homes and hospitals, and they have been fully briefed on the data.” Cuomo said at the press conference, “We suspended enforcement of the request from the state Legislature and enforced the (Department of Justice) information request first. The two things are very different.”
Cuomo said, “All deaths in nursing homes and hospitals are being reported fully, openly and accurately,” but added that “there has been a delay in providing all of this additional information to the press and the community at large.”
The governor mentioned, “The fact that everybody did their best …… the fact that it was a terrible outbreak, the fact that COVID attacked the elderly, the fact that people are still dying as far as we know.”
Cuomo said the state was focused on Epidemic preparedness matters and was not able to release nursing home related data immediately.
Fourteen Democratic lawmakers called for Governor Cuomo to be relieved of his emergency powers after the New York Post revealed last week that Secretary of State DeRosa spoke at an internal meeting, saying the state was required to make swift and necessary public health judgments in the early stages of the outbreak, “but it is clear that the emergency powers granted to the governor are no longer appropriate… …Although the governor’s authority to issue directives expires on April 30, we urge the state Senate to repeal it as soon as possible.”
According to the New York Post, when state officials learned that the Justice Department was investigating deaths in New York nursing homes, the secretary said in a private conference call, “We froze (the data).”
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