‘We should have provided more information faster’: Cuomo acknowledges data void in NY nursing home COVID-19 deaths

ALBANY, N.Y. — Gov. Andrew Cuomo defended his administration against accusations of wrongdoing on Monday while conceding officials should have been more forthcoming with data related to nursing homes deaths during the COVID-19 crisis.

The governor, facing mounting criticism over the state’s handling of elder care facilities and an aide’s admission to lawmakers that the state held back information out of fear the Trump administration would use it as political fodder, took responsibility for the delays personally.

“In retrospect, we should have prioritized providing more information,” Cuomo said during a press briefing at the state Capitol. “No excuses: I accept responsibility for that. I am in charge. I take responsibility. We should have provided more information faster.”

In response to allegations of a cover-up and calls for probes and even impeachment, however, the governor said that “there’s nothing to investigate.”

He instead said the pressures of the pandemic coupled with politics and the vacuum created by the state’s slow response to inquiries from state lawmakers and the press about the number of elder care facility resident who died after being transferred to hospitals led to the current situation.

“The void in information that we created started misinformation, disinformation, conspiracy theories, and now people have to hear that, and they don’t know what is the truth,” Cuomo said. “The truth is you had the best medical professionals and advice on the globe. The truth is it was in the middle of a terrible pandemic. The truth is COVID attacks senior citizens. The truth is, with all we know, people still die in nursing homes.”

The state Health Department only admitted the true number of nursing home patients who died was off by more than 4,000 late last month in response to a scathing report from Attorney General James’ office that accused officials of under-counting the number of as much as 50%.

Health Commissioner Howard Zucker told lawmakers last week the full count of deaths in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities exceeded 15,000, including those who died after transferring out of a facility. Previously, the state only reported around 8,500 nursing home deaths.

Cuomo’s comments Monday were his first on the subject since his top aide Melissa DeRosa admitted in a call with state lawmakers that the administration delayed releasing data to legislators or the public due to a federal Justice Department preliminary inquiry.

DeRosa told lawmakers that the administration “froze” in part because they feared former President Donald Trump would turn the situation into a “giant political football.”

The governor repeatedly claimed Monday that legislative leaders and staffers were made aware at the time that the federal probe took precedence.

Michael Whyland, a spokesman for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, countered by reissuing a statement saying the governor’s office “reached out to staff and said they needed more time to supply information requested by the members.”

However, state officials “simply said that it would not be ready by the time (lawmakers) requested it.

“Other than what was in the news, the Speaker had no knowledge of an official DOJ inquiry,” he added.

Pressed about when and what Legislative leaders were told about the delay, Cuomo said he was sure they were made aware in a timely fashion and should have known about the federal inquiry.

“I’m sure there was a breakdown in communication between the staff and members of the Legislature,” the governor said.

Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have increasingly criticized the governor in recent days, with Democrats joining Republicans in calling for Cuomo’s emergency executive powers to be scaled back.

Some have called on James and the DOJ to probe the matter, while others want to see the governor impeached.

Cuomo on Monday said his use of executive authority and his actions throughout the pandemic have only been to protect the public.

“These are public health decisions,” he said. “They’re not local political decisions, and they have to be made on a public health basis.”

Senate Minority Leader Robert Ortt, a Republican, said the governor “continues to shift the blame anywhere but upon himself and his top officials.”

Republicans have long railed against Cuomo’s handling of the crisis, honing in on a Health Department order sending recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals back to nursing homes.

Cuomo has long said the March 25 mandate was based on federal guidance and did not contribute to the spread of coronavirus in elder care facilities.

He instead reiterated the findings of a July report written by the state DOH that concluded it was asymptomatic staff and visitors who brought the disease into senior homes.

He also said that of the 613 nursing homes in the state, 365 received a COVID-19 patient from a hospital following the March order. Of those 365, 98% already had the virus in their facilities when the COVID-19-positive hospital patient arrived.

The governor also defended Zucker, saying he fully trusts the commissioner’s judgment, and believes that Zucker has always acted using the best scientist knowledge available at the time.

“I would trust Dr. Zucker with my mother’s care,” Cuomo said. “That’s why I trust him with your mother’s care.”

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