According to a state attorney general report, New York might have undercounted the estimate of mortality in nursing homes by thousands. Letitia James says her inquiry revealed a dramatic gap between the deaths reported and actual tally.
This report directly undermines Governor Andrew Cuomo. It seems likely that the governor had claimed of the pandemic response.
Also, if the findings come out as true, the death tolls would go by 13 thousand. This number would become the highest deaths in the nursing home in the US.
While the official or recorded tally goes up to just 8,711. This is a tally presented by the state’s health department.
Mr Cuomo, who is a democrat, has frequently retained his handling of nursing homes. Moreover, he presented the argument that other states are doing far worse.
New York is a one of some states in the country with deaths in nursing homes. This is when they died in the property of nursing home and not during treatments in the hospital.
What’s found in reports?
Ms James, in her reports, found that numerous nursing home citizens died due to covid-19 after they were shifted to the hospital. However, these people are not listed in the reports presented by the department. Ms James, like Mr Cuomo, is also a democrat.
By the families of nursing home residents and their families, since April, there is build nearly a thousand complaints of around 76-pages. The findings are based on a survey that was conducted taking in 62 nursing homes. This number though is just 10 per cent of the states’ total facility.
The attorney general’s reports signalled out Mr Cuomo’s statement that nursing homes should readmit the residents who had tested positive for coronavirus to free up hospital space. This was a statement given by Mr Cuomo, in last year’s March, when the covid was on peak in the state.
Ms James report states that further inquiry in the case would be needed to prove a link connecting the policy and over four thousand residents who died after it was declared.
But she also stated that those entries might have added an increased risk of nursing home inmate virus and following deaths. Mr Cuomo abolished this policy after facing a public objection after less than two months. But he accepted no blame for the increased deaths in the nursing homes in the state. Additionally, he issues a much-criticised report that attempted to justify his actions.
According to the Us media, the governor’s directive was next washed from the state department of health website.
Mr Cuomo also tried blaming the policy on former president Trump. But, Politifact rated this claim of his as mostly false.
Dr Howard Zucker published a 1,700-word report downplaying the attorney general’s findings. Dr Zucker is New York’s health commissioner.