Newly sworn-in New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is acknowledging there were thousands of more COVID-19 deaths in the state than former New York Andrew Cuomo (D) publicized.
On Wednesday, Hochul disclosed 12,000 additional COVD-19 deaths, bringing the state’s death tally up to 55,400.
During an appearance on MSNBC Hochul said, “We’re now releasing more data than had been released before publicly, so people know the nursing home deaths and the hospital deaths are consistent with what’s being displayed by the CDC.”
“There’s a lot of things that weren’t happening, and I’m going to make them happen. Transparency will be the hallmark of my administration,” she added.
The Associated Press reports, “The count used by Cuomo in his news media briefings only included laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 deaths reported through a state system that collects data from hospitals, nursing homes, and adult care facilities. That meant the tally excluded people who died at home, hospice, in state prisons or at state-run homes for people living with disabilities. It also excluded people who likely died of COVID-19 but never got a positive test to confirm the diagnosis.”
“Cuomo’s critics had long charged that he was manipulating coronavirus statics to burnish his image as a pandemic leader,” it noted.
Earlier this year, New York State Attorney General Letitia James (D) released a report that found Cuomo had undercounted the number of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes by as much as 50%, as IJR reported.
As the AP explains, the Cuomo administration “minimized its toll of nursing home residents’ deaths by excluding all patients who died after being transferred to hospitals.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and federal prosecutors reportedly opened an investigation into the Cuomo administration’s handling of coronavirus deaths in nursing homes.
Cuomo officially stepped down earlier this week after James released a report that found he sexually harassed several women.