Thursday, January 28, 2021

28 January 2021: NY AG Confirms Team Cuomo Hiding Extent of COVID Deaths in Nursing Homes

Cuomo administration severely undercounted COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes: report

This article covers the first of several blockbuster stories that broke in the state of New York on 28 January 2021, which began as the state's attorney general, a Cuomo ally, was compelled to report the findings of the state Department of Justice's investigation. Here's the short summary:

A 76-page report released Thursday by New York Attorney General Letitia James found a larger number of nursing home residents died from COVID-19 than state data show.

The report indicated that under the Cuomo administration's unusual scheme for counting the COVID-19 deaths of nursing home residents in the state was undercounted by 50%. Which is to say the Cuomo administration had officially acknowledged half the total.

NY nursing home COVID deaths more than 12K, Cuomo Health chief reveals

This article reviews the fallout from the New York Attorney General's report, which forced New York Department of Health Commissioner Howard Zucker to finally release the public data on COVID-19 related nursing home resident deaths several hours later, after months of stonewalling. Here's an excerpt:

A damning attorney general's report that showed Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other officials downplayed the deadly impact of COVID-19 on New York's nursing homes finally led the state's embattled health commissioner on Thursday to reveal the total number of resident fatalities.

In a defensive, nearly 1,700-word statement, Dr. Howard Zucker released figures that put the tally of confirmed and presumed deaths in both nursing homes and hospitals at 12,743 as of Jan. 19.

The staggering number is only slightly less than the 13,000-plus suggested by the report issued earlier in the day by Attorney General Letitia James.

The figure of 12,743 COVID-19 nursing home deaths in New York is generally consistent with the percentage of nursing home deaths reported in other northeastern states. The Cuomo administration had been falsely attributing the additional deaths to the hospitals to which nursing home residents infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were transferred prior to their deaths.

Here are links to other news outlets covering the story:

Nursing home fallout for Cuomo: Angry, brutal, bipartisan

Despite the Cuomo administration's contrary claims, the push to force Governor Cuomo to acknowledge the full extent of COVID-19 deaths among New York's nursing home residents has been bipartisan. This article covers some of the immediate reaction to the breaking news confirmation of the Cuomo administration's attempted coverup.

New York State Office of the Attorney General Letitia James: Nursing Home Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, January 2021

One last bombshell was contained with New York state Attorney General Letitia James' report. It would appear the Cuomo administration issued guidance for nursing homes to stop testing incoming patients for coronavirus infections on 21 March 2020:

OAG preliminary investigations reflected that in the nine downstate counties that experienced higher community-based transmission of COVID-19, some facilities stopped testing residents for COVID-19 after the March 21 guidance was issued. For example, the administrator of a for-profit facility in New York City with CMS 1-Star Staffing and 1-Star Overall ratings alleged in April that the facility was not currently testing residents for COVID-19. He alleged that DOH told the facility to stop testing at some point in March.

The 21 March 2020 guidance came just four days before the administration issued its disastrous 25 March 2020 directive forcing state nursing homes to admit patients who had been treated for coronavirus infections at hospitals. Consequently, nursing homes were not allowed to determine if these newly admitted patients were still contagious. The combination of Cuomo administration policies would almost appear designed to ensure the deadly spread of COVID-19 in New York's nursing homes.

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