Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced sharp criticism Tuesday during an often-fierce Assembly subcommittee hearing over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during the height of the virus’ spread in nursing homes.
Republicans questioning the Democrat focused on a controversial directive issued by the Trump administration in March 2020 that initially prohibited nursing homes from refusing to admit patients solely because they had COVID-19. More than 9,000 patients have recovered from coronavirus The directive led to some patients being transferred from hospitals to nursing homes, but it was later rescinded amid speculation that it had accelerated the spread of the virus.
Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York called the directive “deadly.” Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, chairman of the House COVID-19 subcommittee, said the directive runs counter to federal guidance and its consequences are “dangerous and dire.” Republicans have accused Cuomo of orchestrating a cover-up to hide mistakes that put nursing home residents at risk.
“Governor, this is your responsibility. Your name is on the letterhead. Whether you knew it or not, this is your directive,” Wenstrup said. “You are the leader. The responsibility is yours, or at least it should be.”
During more than two hours of testimony, Governor Cuomo staunchly defended his actions and blamed the former Trump administration for failing to provide enough testing and personal protective equipment in the early stages of the pandemic.
“All of this is a ploy to shift the blame for the federal government’s failings onto New York and other states,” Cuomo said.
The testimony is unlikely to resolve the dispute over the nursing home order, which was issued to prevent hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients who are not sick enough to require hospitalization but who need nursing home care for other conditions and cannot simply be discharged or sent home.
The report released by the House of Commons committee did not delve into the question of whether many of the people discharged from hospitals were still infectious when they were readmitted to nursing homes, or whether they then transmitted the virus to other patients.
Some public health experts say most of the people who died in New York nursing homes in the early months of the pandemic likely caught the virus from staff, visiting family members or fellow patients who hadn’t yet been hospitalized.
Governor Cuomo told the committee that the report did not provide any evidence to support the claim that the directive contributed to the spread of the virus.
“In fact, the report found no causal link whatsoever. There were no deaths,” he said.
In one particularly heated exchange, Stefanik asked Cuomo if he was in book negotiations amid the deaths of nursing home residents, and the two men accused each other of falsifying facts, after which Stefanik demanded that Cuomo apologize to the families who lost loved ones.
“There’s a family sitting here, and I want you to turn around, look them in the eye and apologize, and you’re not doing that,” she said. “Would you please do that?”
“This is not political theater,” Cuomo responded.
The Assembly committee also said it found that Cuomo and his aides tried to shift potential blame by ordering an unscientific report that concluded his now-rescinded March directives had little impact on the death toll.
Nearly 15,000 New York long-term care home residents have died from the coronavirus, far more than initially released, after Governor Cuomo said he initially withheld some figures due to concerns about their accuracy.
“The governor was desperate to change the narrative to dispel the perception that his administration had failed nursing home residents,” said Rep. James Comer, a Republican who chairs the House Oversight Committee.
Cuomo Resigned Allegations of sexual harassment emerged in August 2021, but he denied them.
Cuomo was widely seen as a reassuring figure in the early months of the pandemic, but his popularity took a hit after it emerged his administration had released incomplete tallies of deaths in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Cuomo testified before the subcommittee in June. , But it was done behind closed doors. Senior officials from Cuomo’s former administration were also interviewed as part of the investigation.
Another state report commissioned by Cuomo’s successor, Gov. Kathy Hockle, said: And released this A summer study found that policy on how nursing homes should respond to COVID-19 was “rushed and uncoordinated” but based on the best understanding of the science at the time.
