- Cuomo ordered nursing homes to re-admit residents who had tested positive for COVID-19.
- Cuomo blew off criticism of this obviously risky policy. “We actually have a lower percentage of people who died in nursing homes,” Cuomo claimed in June 2020.
- It was a lie. New York Attorney General Letitia James released a report that nursing home deaths were higher than the Cuomo administration previously admitted. Following the AG’s investigation, Cuomo’s state health department admitted 3,800 more people died in nursing homes than the Cuomo administration had claimed.
In total, more than 12,000 people died in New York nursing homes under Cuomo’s failed leadership.
Families of dead seniors who seek legal accountability may also face hardships, thanks to Cuomo. According to the New York Times, “The attorney general’s report also scrutinized immunity provisions granted to health care providers codified by Mr. Cuomo in the state budget. The report said the protection of immunity may have prompted some nursing homes to make financially motivated decisions at the height of the pandemic, like admitting patients even when the facilities were facing staff shortages or were unequipped to care for them.”