Andrew Cuomo set to publicly testify over New York Covid nursing home deaths

Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo will publicly testify, for the first time, about his controversial nursing home advisory issued during the Covid -19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, September 10, Cuomo will return to a panel before the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic to testify about the scandal in which he undersold the number of Covid-related deaths in nursing homes after directing the facilities to accept patients who were suspected of having or did have Covid.

Cuomo testified behind closed doors to the subcommittee in June. A transcript of that has yet to be released.

In a series of posts on X on Tuesday, the subcommittee said Cuomo was “shockingly callous” while speaking about the nursing home mortality rate and “deflected responsibility” for issuing the directive.

“Andrew Cuomo owes answers to the 15,000 families who lost loved ones in New York’s nursing homes during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Representative Brad Wenstrup, chairman of the subcommittee, said in a statement.

Though it has been more than four years since the scandal occurred, Cuomo and his administration have been under state and federal investigations regarding the number of reported nursing home deaths which Cuomo’s office was found to have underreported by 50 percent.

It ties back to a March 25, 2020 directive that required nursing homes to accept Covid patients from hospitals regardless of their current infection status. That directive was later rescinded.

Facing scrutiny, Cuomo defended his administration’s decision, claiming it was issued in accordance with federal government guidance. The former governor later apologized for not acting quickly but has maintained there was no wrongdoing.

“The one question that needs to be answered is still being ignored: ‘Why did more people die from Covid in the United States than any other country and how do we make sure it never happens again?’ It is Governor Cuomo’s pleasure to join the committee once again to try to get an answer,” Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo told CNN.

A recent report on New York’s Covid response from the New York State Executive Chamber did not blame Cuomo for issuing the directive and stated that the number of deaths in New York nursing homes was consistent with national data.

It did, however, declare Cuomo’s decision to consolidate authority to the executive chamber “a significant and unnecessary mistake” because it caused internal confusion.

“A true leader owns up to his mistakes and takes responsibility for wrongdoing. That is not what we saw from Mr. Cuomo during his term as governor nor during his transcribed interview. We hope that during his public hearing next week, Mr. Cuomo will stop dodging accountability and honestly answer the American people,” Representative Wenstrup said.