4 June 2020: Governor Cuomo Caught in a Self-Made Trap

Cuomo still stands by coronavirus nursing home order despite death toll

This report covers what Governor Cuomo said in a radio interview. Here's an excerpt from the New York Post's coverage:

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday yet again doubled down on his decision to send coronavirus patients to nursing homes from hospitals — despite it potentially factoring in to more than 5,000 deaths.

The governor reiterated a March 25 health department mandate that required all nursing homes to accept residents who tested positive for COVID-19.

“So the choice is, leave a person in a hospital bed for two weeks until they test negative, or send them to a nursing home that can handle it and quarantine them and isolate them,” Cuomo said in an interview with Jay Oliver on Long Island News Radio.

“The nursing home is a better choice for that senior person, especially when you’re in a time when you need the hospital beds for people who are going to die without a ventilator.”

In many ways, Governor Cuomo's statements reflect his political and legal plight - he can neither afford to acknowledge the failure of judgment that led to his choice to implement the state's deadly policy without jeopardizing his political future, nor can he acknowledge his responsibility for actions that appear to qualify as criminally negligent homicide in New York or as involuntary manslaughter under federal law.