New York admits knowingly undercounting COVID-19 nursing home deaths after quietly changing reporting rules
Who should be held accountable? NYC GOP Councilman Joe Borelli reacts.
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New York City Republican Councilman Joe Borelli explained on Monday why there are now “bipartisan calls” for an investigation into New York Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo's controversial coronavirus nursing home order following the deaths of thousands.
“The truth of the matter is on March 25, the Cuomo administration made a decision in the form of a written policy that prevented nursing homes from rejecting patients that were testing positive for COVID-19 from coming back into the nursing home,” Borelli told “Fox & Friends First.”
Borelli added that though "leeway" should be given to elected officials who make difficult decisions in difficult circumstances, Cuomo made a "backward" decision, allowing infected people to be allowed near vulnerable and "close-knit" people.
“You don’t have to be an expert in epidemiology to realize that this was going to be a problem,” Borelli said.
Meantime, the New York Post reported Saturday that the state's official coronavirus death count has undercounted many deaths in New York City nursing homes. Last week, congressional candidate and New York Republican Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis called for an independent federal investigation into Cuomo's order.
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Appearing on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" with host Tucker Carlson, Malliotakis – who represents parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island – asserted Tuesday that Cuomo's own inquiry with Attorney General Letitia James would not be sufficient to uncover what exactly occurred.
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On Sunday, Cuomo announced he was reversing his March order by the state's Health Department, which required nursing homes to accept recovering COVID-19 patients.
Just last week, the Empire State reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities. According to a tally from The Associated Press, over 5,300 New Yorkers living in nursing homes have perished at the hands of the virus and the toll has been increasing by an average of 20 to 25 deaths a day for the past few weeks.
Going forward, Cuomo announced that nursing home staff will be required to take two diagnostic tests each week to check for the virus and guaranteed tests would be available to those employees. Although facilities are often privately run, the New York Department of Health licenses and sets regulations for the 613 long-term care facilities.
Nursing home directors have reported they've begged the state for more protective equipment and tests as well as help in relocating positive patients, but pleas have gone unanswered. All of this comes as the number of workers who called out sick steadily rose.
Borelli said that family members of deceased older relatives “really want answers" and "real pressure" is mounting across party lines.
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“The attorney general has now said she will open an investigation. The state legislature’s health committee says they are going to have oversight hearings. I think we are going to get the answers to these questions we’re getting: I think they might be ugly, I think they might not be pretty. I think they might affect the reputation that Andrew Cuomo has garnered in the course of this COVID-19 crisis.”
Fox News' Julia Musto contributed to this report.
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