New York Democrat Governor Andrew Cuomo is under fire over his reckless nursing home mandate during the COVID-19 outbreak.
It’s reported over 5,300 nursing home deaths happened in New York due to the virus.
During a COVID-19 press briefing in April, Cuomo was asked about New York State’s March 25 mandate requiring nursing home residents to be readmitted even though they tested positive.
The readmission policy said, “No resident shall be denied readmission or admission to the [nursing home] solely based on a confirmed or suspected diagnosis of COVID-19,” according to Newsday.
Shockingly, Cuomo responded, “That’s a good question, I don’t know.”
Cuomo then looked to the health commissioner for a response.
The New York Post reports (watch video):
Health Commissioner Howard Zucker, to whom Cuomo referred the question, said that under the state’s policy, “if you are positive, you should be admitted back to a nursing home.”
A few days later, Cuomo doubled down on the mandate.
The New York Post reports:
“They don’t have a right to object. That is the rule and that is the regulation and they have to comply with that,” Cuomo said during his daily briefing in Albany.
Cuomo continued the mandate until May 10.
NBC New York reports:
Hospitals cannot release patients to nursing homes in New York unless the patient tests negative for the virus, Cuomo said Sunday. The governor’s announcement is a reversal of sorts from a March order by the state’s health department requiring nursing home to accept recovering patients.
New York State Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis called Cuomo out for putting New York’s elderly at risk and highlighted the double standard of Cuomo defending the safety of his mother.
The New York Post reports:
“On March 24th, Gov. Cuomo said, ‘My mother is not expendable, your mother is not expendable,’ and yet the very next day he signed an executive order mandating nursing homes – where our most vulnerable mothers and our most vulnerable fathers reside – to accept COVID positive patients,” Malliotakis told Fox News earlier this week.
New York Republican Representative Elise Stefanik is calling for a federal investigation.
We must protect our most vulnerable.
We need answers on the tragedy of nursing homes throughout this pandemic.
Families have written to me who have lost both parents in facilities in NYS. Rather than dismiss these concerns like NY, we need answers.https://t.co/OIHzvwtoJs
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) May 18, 2020
Cuomo’s campaign hit back saying, “We urge Ms. Stefanik to do something we understand is uncomfortable for her: stop political pandering and fear-mongering.”
Even more controversial is news from The Daily Caller investigative group that New York changed the reporting of COVID-19 deaths among nursing home and adult care facilities, confirmed by the New York State Department of Health.
The Daily Caller reports:
But the department made a subtle change to its disclosures beginning around May 3, according to web archives. The NYSDOH told the DCNF its disclosure now only reports coronavirus deaths for long-term care patients that died while physically present at their facility.
Cuomo’s reckless mandate requiring at-risk nursing homes and adult care facilities to take in confirmed or suspected COVID-19 patients is outrageous.
Families are calling for justice to be served and a thorough investigation must be conducted so that Cuomo is held accountable.
