House Republicans Grill Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Over COVID-19 Response
By Christian Wade (The Center Square)
House Republicans recently questioned former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo regarding his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly focusing on a directive that mandated nursing homes to admit COVID-19-positive patients. The Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, controlled by Republicans, accused Cuomo of disregarding federal guidance and medical best practices in nursing home settings.
The committee alleged that Cuomo and his team intentionally excluded significant nursing home-related COVID-19 deaths from mortality rates and manipulated documents to shift blame away from themselves. Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York demanded an apology from Cuomo to the families who lost loved ones in nursing homes due to the directive.
Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment allegations, defended his actions before the House panel, attributing the high number of COVID-19 deaths to former President Donald Trump’s handling of the pandemic. Democrats on the committee supported Cuomo and also criticized Trump’s response to the crisis.
The controversial directive, issued in March 2020, required nursing homes to admit recovering COVID-19 patients from hospitals. Despite being rescinded after a few weeks, Cuomo faced criticism for contributing to the high death toll in New York’s long-term care facilities.
More than 80,000 New Yorkers died of COVID-19, including 15,000 nursing home residents. Cuomo highlighted that investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice and the Manhattan District Attorney’s office found no wrongdoing in his administration’s policies. He emphasized that community spread, not infected hospital admissions, was the primary source of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
Overall, the hearing underscored the ongoing debate over Cuomo’s response to the pandemic and the role of government officials in managing public health crises.
Syndicated with permission from The Center Square.
