Malliotakis: Governor Cuomo Should Resign
(WASHINGTON, DC) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) today released the following statement after Governor Cuomo's top aide confirmed the Cuomo Administration intentionally withheld data from the state legislature regarding the number of coronavirus-related deaths in New York nursing homes following an executive order that mandated they accept COVID-positive patients:
"On May 7 when I first called for an investigation into Governor Cuomo's mishandling of nursing homes I was accused of pulling a political stunt. I knew there was something very wrong with the Governor's policy towards nursing homes and his refusal to answer questions after thousands died.
"This admission of a coverup proves what I've known all along; Governor Cuomo and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) made a calculated political decision to avoid answering questions and being the subject of legal investigations. The Governor should immediately resign and the Department of Justice should hold Governor Cuomo and his administration accountable so justice can be served for the thousands of families who lost loved ones."
In March, the NYSDOH ordered nursing homes to accept over 9,000 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.
New York Attorney General Letitia James' January report alleged serious discrepancies in the number of nursing home deaths reported by the NYSDOH and the data given to her investigators. Some nursing homes show discrepancies as much as 50%, as James' report accused 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.