Cuomo Gives Testimony on COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo recently testified before Congress regarding his administration’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic. This appearance followed a private hearing held on June 11.

Cuomo faced severe accusations from a Republican-led House committee, which claims he is responsible for sending numerous New York seniors to their deaths through his policies while attempting to obscure the truth. In a notable development, the committee announced a subpoena for Governor Kathy Hochul, demanding she produce documents tied to the Cuomo administration’s actions. Hochul’s team expressed surprise at the subpoena, stating they had been cooperative and provided thousands of documents related to the inquiry.

During his testimony, Cuomo directly addressed the claims that his administration contributed to the deaths of thousands of seniors, asserting that New York had adhered to federal guidelines throughout the crisis. He emphasized that it was the Trump administration that had initially dictated policies allowing COVID-19 positive patients to be transferred from hospitals to nursing homes.

Representative Elise Stefanik questioned Cuomo’s truthfulness, pressing him about the timeline of book deal negotiations amidst the pandemic’s toll. Cuomo rebuffed these accusations, insisting that the facts had been misrepresented.

The committee contends that Cuomo underreported nursing home fatalities and that his administration produced flawed reports attempting to downplay the impact of his policies. Cuomo defended his actions, stating that he insisted on accurate reporting of death statistics and emphasized there was no attempt to mask the total death toll.

Cuomo maintained that he was following the guidance of federal agencies and criticized the lack of preparation from the federal government regarding personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical resources during the early stages of the pandemic. He described the situation as a “COVID ‘Hunger Games'” in which states were left to compete against each other for essential supplies.

Amid the congressional inquiry, family members of victims were present, demanding accountability for the lives lost during the pandemic. Tracey Alvino, who lost her father, expressed the emotional turbulence of confronting Cuomo, whom she holds responsible for her father’s death. She recounted her father’s fears while in a nursing home during the height of the crisis.

The House subcommittee released a detailed report before the hearing, accusing Cuomo of making false statements to obscure the number of deaths in nursing homes. The report noted that approximately 15,000 senior citizens died in New York nursing homes in 2020, with widespread criticism aimed at a March 25 directive issued by Cuomo’s administration that allowed the admission of COVID-19 patients into nursing homes.

Cuomo previously characterized the potential spread of the virus in nursing homes as a catastrophic threat, yet he enacted policies that did not align with those warnings. Additionally, the report suggested that Cuomo’s administration used inconsistent methods for recording nursing home fatalities throughout the pandemic.

In response to the allegations, a spokesperson for Cuomo indicated that the report acknowledges that the withholding of out-of-facility death figures was due to legitimate concerns surrounding their accuracy. The spokesperson criticized the report as a distraction from former President Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

As the inquiry continues, lawmakers emphasize that the New York state government is still withholding documents crucial to understanding the full scope of the situation and ensuring that future tragedies are avoided.