Advisers to the Governor of New York. Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo: Cuomo advisers modified the report on COVID-19 nursing homes: WSJ Cuomo prosecutor Charlotte Bennett says the governor asked about previous sexual assaults. (D) urged state health officials to amend a public report from July on deaths from COVID-19 in residences, people with knowledge of the report’s production were told The Wall Street Journal.
The report focused only on residents who died in long-term care facilities and did not include those who died in hospitals after falling ill in residences. The report indicated that 6,432 residents of nursing homes had died, resulting in a deficit in the number of deaths, sources told the newspaper.
The report in question emerged as a result of a study by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) on the impact of a March directive stating that nursing homes could not be denied. whether to readmit residents or admit new residents to hospitals simply because of a COVID-19 diagnosis.
According to the newspaper, the report shifted the blame for the spread of the virus to the staff who brought the virus to work.
The initial version of the report included data on the deaths of nursing home residents inside homes, as well as deaths in hospitals, the newspaper reported. However, members of Cuomo’s COVID-19 working group, which included Gov. Melissa DeRosa’s secretary, called for the report to downplay the role of the March directive, which was rejected.
According to the newspaper, the published report said the directive “was not a significant factor in fatalities in residences.”
Garvey told the Journal that members of the working group did not request the change in the report, but were “very cautious not to exaggerate the statistical analysis presented in the report. In general, to ensure the confidence of the public in the conclusion was the ultimate goal of DOH and the Covid working group in issuing the report. “
The Journal report comes as Cuomo faces growing calls for his resignation amid treatment of COVID-19 deaths in residences, as well as allegations of misconduct by staff members.
State legislators reached an agreement Tuesday to withdraw Cuomo from his pandemic-related emergency powers amid controversy.
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report in January that found the Cuomo administration did not report up to 50 percent of deaths in nursing homes and violated the March directive.
According to the newspaper, the July report is of interest in a federal investigation into the handling of COVID-19 by the Cuomo administration in residences.