Malliotakis: Commissioner Must Resign, Governor Must Take Ownership

(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today released the following statement after New York State Attorney General Letitia James published a report confirming Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) severely undercounted coronavirus-related deaths at New York nursing homes:

"The Attorney General's findings following the investigation into Governor Cuomo's mishandling of nursing homes are shocking and confirms that proper safety protocols were not put in place," said Congresswoman Malliotakis. "As I've been saying for months, Governor Cuomo and the NYSDOH did not adequately provide enough PPE for our most vulnerable and their staff. Because of their failed leadership, tens of thousands of New Yorkers were put at risk, many of whom lost their lives."

In May, Congresswoman Malliotakis, who was a member of the State Assembly at the time, was the first to call for an investigation of the Governor's mishandling of nursing homes during the pandemic.

Congresswoman Malliotakis added: "For months his administration accused us of playing partisan games, but now, his hand-picked Attorney General has unfortunately confirmed our suspicions. Governor Cuomo cannot hide anymore. On March 17, he told the people of New York and the nation: 'The buck stops on my desk.' Now he needs to accept responsibility for his administration's bad decisions that led to thousands of deaths of our most vulnerable, and the cover-up that attempted to minimize it. For starters, the Governor must take immediate action by demanding for the resignation of New York State Health Commission Howard Zucker."

James' 76-page report alleges serious discrepancies in the number of deaths reported by the NYSDOH and the data given to her investigators. Some nursing homes show discrepancies as much as 50%, as James' report accuses the state of only accounting for deaths at nursing home facilities, rather than including the deaths of residents who were transferred to a hospital and later died.

James' report also found that many nursing homes did not comply with state infection control policies, which require homes to isolate residents who test positive for coronavirus. In March, the NYSDOH ordered nursing homes to accept individuals who tested positive for coronavirus. The directive remained even after the state set up emergency hospitals to treat positive patients, including at the Javits Center, Staten Island's South Beach Psychiatric Center, and on the U.S. Navy Ship Comfort.